KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 26 -- Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng said the federal government still has not grasped the severity of the problems facing the local hotel and tourism industry that was on the verge of collapse.

Instead, he suggested that the Perikatan Nasional administration under Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin appeared to be more focused on pursuits such as an Emergency proclamation and suspending Parliament.

"Instead of facilitating bank loans or an automatic loan moratorium, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri appears to be trapped in a different reality," Lim said in a statement.

The Bagan MP cited her statement to the Dewan Rakyat in November last year where Nancy said despite the closure o...