The spat between East Malaysia BN leaders and Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz on the new hotel tax is over, following discussions between Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Abang Openg.

According to Works Minister Fadillah Yusof, who is also Sarawak BN Youth head, Abang Johari will issue a statement on this matter soon.

Fadillah said that there was no "fighting" between Mohamed Nazri and Sarawakian politicians, who came to the defence of state cabinet member Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah. On Sunday, Abdul Karim was on the receiving end of a barrage of insults from Mohamed Nazri.

"That was not fighting, but differences in opinion," said Fadillah.

Karim had urged the federal government to defer the implementation of the new tourism tax in Sabah and Sarawak. In response, Mohamed Nazri said Karim did not fully understand the issue, calling him a political greenhorn and thug.

Fadillah, who also joined in the chorus of disapproval against Mohamed Nazri, said that he was prepared to let bygones be bygones.

"That was in the past, we (in BN) care for each other," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the issue was discussed in cabinet yesterday and a decision had been made.

"There will be no minister, either from the federal level or state level, making another statement on the issue," said Ahmad Zahid.

The new tax, which will come into effect on July 1, will see customers paying up to RM20 more a night for hotel rooms.

The tax affects both Malaysians and foreigners and is imposed regardless of whether they are on a leisure or business trip.

Two highway firms in the red

On another matter, Fadillah revealed that the Johor Bahru Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway (EDL) and Senai-Desaru Expressway (SDE) were at risk of bankruptcy due to recent policy changes. 

He said that the EDL claimed that their operations were affected due to the recent imposition of the vehicle entry permit (VEP) on Singaporean-registered vehicles.

"When we first introduced the toll, certain portion of the toll were free because Johor government wanted it free for Johoreans. So, we only charged for vehicles that go and come from Singapore, but then Singapore reacted to it.

"We introduced VEP fees and Singapore reacted to that," he said.

Malaysia imposed RM20 fees levy for foreign-registered vehicles on Nov 1, 2016, and Singapore matched by increasing a levy on foreign-registered vehicles.

"We have to study based on what they (EDL concessionaire) said and we have to conduct a due diligence study," he said.

He said that the SDE too, is facing a reduction in traffic volume, although he did not specify why.

"We have to find a mechanism to mitigate the loss of the company because when we talk about a public-private partnership (PPP), there should be a win-win to all parties," he said.

Fadillah said Putrajaya had yet to decide on the request by both companies for the government to take them over. He stressed that there will be no bailout.