SANDAKAN – Leaders from both sides of the political divide here have come together to object to the Sandakan Municipal Council’s (SMC) proposal to revise the assessment rates for residential and commercial properties in the district starting next year.
They said the local authority’s poor performance throughout the years was a source of dissatisfaction with the proposal.
“Improve your (SMC) services first before talking about raising the assessment rates,” said Umno’s Libaran MP Datuk Suhaimi Nasir.
In a recent statement, Suhaimi expressed concerns that SMC has been unable to address a multitude of issues, such as blocked drains, overgrown grass, sluggish garbage collection, and deteriorating road conditions in residential areas.
“As an MP, I have raised these problems to the Sabah Legislative Assembly and the Dewan Rakyat multiple times, but they are still not tackled by the SMC.
“Now, suddenly, SMC wants to raise the assessment fee beginning next year, surely the people in the district including myself would oppose it,” he said.
Sabah DAP chairman and Tg Papat assemblyman, Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung, also urged the SMC to reconsider their decision.
He highlighted that property owners have raised concern regarding the urgent need for enhancements in vital municipal services such as garbage collection, sewage systems, and street lighting, among others.
Sandakan residents have had to contend with subpar street lighting, inadequate cleanliness standards, poorly-maintained roads, and rampant weed growth within their neighbourhoods.
This escalating discontentment stems from the perception that SMC has fallen short in fulfilling its responsibilities and commitments to the community, he said in a recent statement.
As an example, repairing a malfunctioning streetlight took SMC a staggering six months, and these delays and inefficiencies have eroded trust in SMC’s capacity to efficiently serve the local population.
Poon said that, rather than implementing any tax increases, it is imperative for SMC to prioritise the enhancement of services that have a direct impact on the quality of life for property owners.
Warisan assemblymen, Elopura’s Calvin Chong, Gum Gum’s Arunarnsin Taib, and Sekong’s Alias Sani, issued a joint statement, saying that the SMC must consider the stagnant economy in the district before making such a drastic move.
They said they have received complaints that residents are seeing up to a 200% hike in assessment fees, especially commercial properties such as shop lots in certain areas.
“A shop in Jalan Labuk would have its assessment fee raised from RM672.20 to RM1,932, which is a 287.5% increase. This is too drastic.
“These shops would have to raise the prices of their services and products to cover the cost, and this would increase the prices of goods and services in the market here.
“The Sandakan district is still struggling to revive its economy, it is a really bad time to increase the assessment fee now,” they said.
On August 14, 2023, the SMC issued a notice of the rateable property valuation list for 2024. The notice also stated that any person who wishes to object to any annual value as stated could give notice in writing to SMC president, Henry Idol six days before the hearing of objections, on October 2, 2023.
People would also be charged with a RM5 fee to submit an objection.
Datuk Chew Kok Woh, the Karamunting Community Development Leader from Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, pointed out that it is “odd” that the SMC would charge the people RM5 if they wanted to submit a form to object to the proposed revision of the assessment fee.
“RM5 may seem small, but this is not the time to be earning from the public. It is illogical for the SMC to be charging the people to object to their proposal; it is like they are doing it on purpose so that people would not object to saving the money,” he said.
Scoop has reached out to SMC for comment on the matter. – September 25, 2023