Heritage charges worth almost half a million ringgit uncollected, undeclared by Melaka local authorities

MELAKA: Weaknesses in the Heritage charge collections by local authorities in Melaka resulted in lost revenue of RM498,708, the Auditor-General’s Report for the Melaka State Government and Agencies as well as Compliance Audit for State Departments/Agencies 2022 revealed.

Based on the report issued on Monday (Nov 27), the Historic Melaka City Council, the Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council and the Alor Gajah Municipal Council did not collect heritage charges from hotel operators, which under the Heritage Charge System’s User’s Guide requires hotel operators to declare the number of rented rooms and make bi-monthly payments to the local authorities the following month.