Work together to help Sandakan attain city status, municipal council members told

KOTA KINABALU: The 25 new Sandakan Municipal Council members who were sworn in on Monday (Feb 13) are urged to work together in realising the aspiration to attain the long-coveted city hall status.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam (pic), who was state Local Government and Housing Minister, said this upgrade was something the state government has been considering.

Witnessing the swearing-in ceremony in Sandakan district, he said the Sabah government through his ministry would cooperate to assist the council members in the efforts to reach this aspiration.

Plans to upgrade the Sandakan Municipal Council had been discussed in the last few years where Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, who was then Deputy Chief Minister in 2021, said Sandakan was poised to be the second city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu when all the criteria had been met.

However, in September last year, Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, who was then state Local Government and Housing Minister, said Sandakan had a lot to improve before it could attain the status of city hall, including improving the level of the municipal council services first.

Masidi nevertheless said "it was almost there" and praised the municipal council as the only local government in Sabah with solid financial reserves compared to other local state governments.

During the ceremony, Joachim expressed confidence that the council members would be able to assist the municipal council and the president in planning strategies and overcoming issues faced by the communities in the district.

"Solving problems is not in the blink of an eye but requires time and following existing procedures, and the bylaws formed are not to burden the people, but to provide better service to them.

"But I hope the municipal council continues to excel and I am happy to see council members from various backgrounds and ethnicities, as they are a link between the people and the government," added Joachim.