Defer assessment hike in Sandakan, urge Sabah reps

Poon (right) in discussion with Henry Idol on the issue of assessment.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sandakan Municipal Council has been told to put on hold an increase in house assessment rates from 2024.

Amid several public protests over the issue, local elected representatives in Sandakan have urged the state government to not implement the assessment hike.

Tanjong Papat assemblyman Datuk Frankie Poon said that the state Local Government and Housing Ministry should consider a moratorium until economic conditions improve.

"I will be appealing to the state Local Government and Housing Minister (Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam) for a moratorium until the economy gets better," said the Sabah DAP chairman.

Poon said that he had a meeting with Sandakan Municipal Council president Henry Idol to discuss the issue of house assessments.

"I had appealed to the president to consider the dilemma faced by Sandakan property owners over the increase in assessment rate.

"I asked them to consider finding ways to delay the implementation by at least another year until economic conditions improve," he said.

He said that many people have yet to completely overcome the financial strain and setbacks from Covid-19 and need more time to get back on their feet.

"We are still not out of the woods and yet we have to be burdened by another increase in cost," Poon said.

He said that the council president informed him that there had been no review of the assessment for a "long time" though the law requires a review done every four years.

Last month, Parti Warisan assemblymen - Calvin Chong (Elopura) Arunarnsin Taib (Gum Gum) and Alias Sani (Sekong)- from the Sandakan area also urged the state government to not go ahead with the assessment increase as people were suffering from high cost of living.

They said some businesses claimed that the assessment hike for their premises was between 30% and 80%.

The assemblymen believed that any hike should be done only after the council improves its services to the people.

ENDS