KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The Malaysian government has collected more than RM600,000 (S$192,767) in tourism tax during the first month of its implementation.

In a written reply to opposition lawmaker Anthony Loke of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Finance Ministry said the total collection was RM610,280 from 4,671 lodgings nationwide from Sept 1 to Sept 30 this year.

Penang is the biggest contributor, collecting RM241,460 from 292 lodgings, followed by Kuala Lumpur with RM185,750 from 718 lodgings and Johor with RM52,550 from 554 lodgings.

Malaysians and permanent residents are exempted from paying the tax, while foreign tourists are charged a flat rate of RM10 (S$3.20) per room per night for all hotel classifications.