SANDAKAN: Libaran Member of Parliament Datuk Suhaimi Nasir has expressed his disagreement with the Sandakan Municipal Council’s (MPS) decision to increase the Assessement rate with effect from next year.
According to him, MPS should first improve their services to tax payers in the district before deciding to increase the assessement rate
He said the current MPS service for them is still not satisfactory, particularly the drains which are not properly maintained leading to blockages, the grass is not cut on time, the roads in the housing estates are damaged and potholed, and the collection of garbage is slow especially in the housing estates.
“As a Member of Parliament, I often bring these issues to the attention of the relevant bodies in the State Legislative Assembly and the Dewan Rakyat, but they are still not properly addressed by the MPS.
“Now, the MPS is proposing to raise the Assessement rate from 20 percent to 30 percent starting next year. However, the people of the district, including myself, are strongly opposed to this increase,” he said in a statement today.
The notice of the assessment rate increase by the MPS dated August 14, 2023, is now viral and has received a response from the residents of this district, who generally do not agree.
For them, MPS needs to improve the quality of service to tax payers before deciding to raise the rate.
Suhami himself has previously mentioned the problem of road damage in several housing estates in the district, including the road at her house, Taman Sejati Ujana Batu 7, that has not been maintained for 15 years, and the road at the shop building, Taman Hing Wah Batu 8, that has suffered damage.
Suhaimi, who is also Sabah UMNO Information Chief, described MPS’ decision to increase the assessment rate next year as a burden on them.
He said that not all of these tax payers are from well-to-do families, and some of them work hard to make payments every year.
“When the people of this state are burdened with the increase in food items, most recently rice, MPS also increased the assessment rate.
“This is not a good decision for MPS to increase their collection by burdening the door tax payers,” he stressed.
In the meantime, he also disputed MPS’s action of charging an objection fee of RM5 for those who want to fill out the objection form provided by MPS.
He said that by charging this protest fee, it does not encourage the public to protest against the increase in the assessment rate.
Therefore, Suhaimi urged the State Government, especially the Minister in charge of the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam, to take note of this matter because the decision made by this MPS burdens the people, which is not in line with the State Government’s struggle to look after the welfare of the people.
