Pay assessment rates or risk uncollected rubbish, Minister tells homeowners

Abdul Karim (fifth right) and other dignitaries pose for a group photo during Samarahan Food and Cultural Festival (SFCF) 2026 at Aiman Mall Kota Samarahan on June 27, 2026. Photo credit: Sarawak Public Communication Unit (UKAS)

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, June 28: Sarawak homeowners have been urged to pay their assessment rates to ensure local councils can continue providing essential services, with Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah warning that unpaid taxes could ultimately affect rubbish collection and other public amenities.

He said assessment-rate collections are among the primary sources of revenue for local authorities, enabling them to fund services such as waste collection, maintenance of recreational parks, street lighting and the overall cleanliness of residential areas.

Abdul Karim stressed that residents must understand that every service provided by local councils comes with operational costs.

“As Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) chairman Abang Ismawi Abang Ali mentioned earlier, don’t neglect your assessment rates every year. If rubbish is not collected even for a day, people complain.

“But we do not want to pay for the service, when every service comes with a cost. Even the lights in our residential parks are under the responsibility of the local authority,” he was quoted as saying in TVS report, during the Samarahan Food and Cultural Festival (SFCF) at Aiman Mall Kota Samarahan last night (June 27).

In the same speech, Abdul Karim urged local authorities to gradually expand rubbish collection services to traditional villages while intensifying public awareness efforts on the importance of paying assessment rates and maintaining a clean environment.

He also called for greater efforts to educate residents moving into new housing estates about their responsibility to pay assessment rates as soon as they occupy their homes, saying early awareness would help prevent arrears from accumulating.

According to him, maintaining a healthy balance between revenue collection and efficient service delivery is crucial to ensuring areas under local authority administration remain clean, comfortable and conducive for residents.

He said strengthening public understanding of the link between assessment-rate payments and municipal services would ultimately help local councils sustain quality service delivery while supporting the continued development of communities across Sarawak. — DayakDaily