PETALING Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is expanding its i-Sekat system to include traffic violations and arrears for grass-cutting as well as rental of council premises.
The i-Sekat system blocks violaters - individuals and companies - from submitting applications to the council and accessing council services, such as business licence renewals.
“MBPJ has been using i-Sekat since 2007 to keep track of compound arrears for various offences, such as assessment tax and licence arrears,” said Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Zahri Samingon.
“We have expanded i-Sekat to include traffic violations by business operators.
As of May 6, there were 2,712 outstanding compounds totalling RM1.3mil for traffic violations.
“As such, those who have yet to renew their licences for this year or next year will be subject to a thorough check on all outstanding compounds before they can proceed with their applications.”
For property owners, he said compound arrears might include offences related to domestic waste (such as dumping rubbish illegally) and grass-cutting for abandoned premises.
To date, the arrears for grass-cutting bills total more than RM1mil, involving 513 property owners.
Mohamad Zahri said those who had arrears from the rental of council premises would also be flagged under i-Sekat.
“This stricter enforcement is to ensure businesses and individuals comply with local council guidelines,” he said.
“If a company wants to run a business or continue running their business in Petaling Jaya, they need to submit the necessary applications and settle all outstanding fines before MBPJ looks into their submission and issues a business licence.”
Those who want to check and pay their council arrears can do so through the city council’s various payment channels, including MBPJ’s office counters and kiosks as well as ePay@MBPJ.
Mohamad Zahri was speaking after chairing MBPJ’s full board meeting yesterday at the city council’s headquarters in Jalan Yong Shook Lin, Petaling Jaya.
MBPJ Licensing Department director Sharinaz Samsudin later added that as of 2025, licence renewals for restaurants included toilets that must meet the “BMW” level – clean, attractive and pleasant-smelling (bersih, menawan dan wangi) – set by the Housing and Local Government Ministry.
“Restaurants were notified of the requirement in 2024 and we started enforcing it last year.
“Food and beverage operators are required to submit an additional form, along with photos of their toilets, to meet the BMW toilet requirement when renewing their business licences online,” she said, adding that restaurants would also be subject to periodic inspections by the MBPJ Health Department.
