KUCHING: Samarahan District Council (SDC) could be upgraded to Samarahan Municipal Council buy next year in line with its status as the faster growing township in Sarawak.
Assistant Minister of Housing, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah revealed this during the 30th Anniversary Appreciation Dinner of Samarahan District Council at Imperial Hotel here on Friday night.
"The State Government has already approved the upgrading of SDC. SDC is supposed to change to Samarahan Municipal Council this year," he added.
Karim, who is also the Assistant Minister of Youth Development and Asajaya State Assemblyman, said the District Council needed to be upgraded as Samarahan developing fast.
However, money was needed from the Federal government for the upgrading./
"I hope and believe that by next year, SDC will be able to change its name to Samarahan Municipal Council."
Karim said that currently, SDC had 60 Councillors.
"It is hoped that when the upgrading is done, the number of Councillors will be increased to provide better and effective services for the people.
"Councillors also need to see ahead, think forward and follow the current changes, especially when Samarahan is growing fast," he said.
He pointed out that as the township grew bigger, there was a need to change people's mindset because things were not the same as 30 year ago.
"Last time, it is normal to see people throwing rubbish into the rivers, but now we try to educate people that throwing rubbish into river may cause pollution.
"Collection of household wastes, not only in the housing estates but also villages, must be improved to that the rubbish can be collected and disposed of properly, he said.
Meanwhile, commenting on SDC which celebrated its 30th anniversary, Karim said that it was not easy to serve the people for 30 years, especially in the fast growing town.
He said Samarahan was now home to two universities, namely, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), a Technical College and a Teachers' College in "just the blink of an eye".
"30 years ago, no one would think that this place will develop so fast with housing estates sprouting like mushrooms, shopping malls, and tall buildings.
Samarahan, Karim said, had been transformed from a fishing and farming area to a fast developing town.
He added that 30 years ago, there were only 30,000 people in Samarahan but today, the numbers had increased to 150,000.
"Such development is possible because of the cooperation between the government, the residents and also SDC," Karim said.
He complimented SDC for doing a good job in collecting RM7 million in assessment rates this year.
"Each year, there is an increase of more than RM1 million from the collection of assessment rates and this is SDC's achievement," Karim added.
Also present were Assistant Minister of Health, Datuk Dr. Jerip Susil, SDC Secretary Simon Wong and SDC Deputy Chairman Hjh Zakiah Hj Basah.
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