The spat between Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz and Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah will not sour relations between the federal government and the East Malaysian states, a minister says.

While reiterating that Nazri could have been more tactful, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan went on to dismiss the episode as a one-off spat.

“Not at all. It’s just one of those little brother-big brother spats,” Rahman, who is also the MP for Kota Belud, Sabah, said of the row over the tourism tax...