By Media Selangor Team
SHAH ALAM, Sept 2 — About 85 per cent of property owners in Selayang have paid their assessment tax for the first term of 2025, despite initial objections to the increased rates.
The revised assessment rates came into effect on January 1 following the Selangor government’s approval last December of a 25 per cent hike across all local councils. The Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) last revised its rates in 1992.
MPS president Shahman Jalaludin was quoted byMalay Mail as saying that engagement sessions with residents helped ease concerns after over 40,000 objections were filed against the increase.
“Of course, we expected resistance when the new rates were announced. Initially, 40,000 residents in Selayang protested against it — one of the highest in Selangor.
“But, by the time it was enforced in January, residents were able to accept why we had to increase the assessment rates.”
Shahman said the additional revenue would be used to strengthen Selayang’s digital infrastructure under Phase 1 of its Smart City plan, which includes installing more smart CCTVs at key locations to improve safety and enforcement.
To progress into Phase 2, MPS will need to expand electric vehicle charging stations, improve micromobility services, and introduce real-time air quality monitoring, among other measures.
“Whatever we earn from the assessment rates, we return it to the public by turning Selayang into a better place,” he said.
On revenue, Shahman said MPS also expects to benefit from the Selangor Intelligent Parking (SIP) system implementation, which centralises on-street municipal parking management in selected local councils.
Under the SIP, parking rates remain unchanged but revenue is shared between the private concessionaire (50 per cent), the local councils (40 per cent) and Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated) subsidiary Rantaian Mesra Sdn Bhd (10 per cent).
“So far, MPS has held four rounds of negotiations with the concessionaire. We have agreed to sign the letter of acceptance but we are now waiting for the concession company to respond.
“With more robust monitoring in place, MPS expects to see higher parking revenue under SIP. If our revenue were to remain the same, then why would we need the SIP?” he said.
Shahman clarified that while concessionaire staff may patrol parking areas, only MPS officers can issue compounds for violations.
He added MPS is also positioning Selayang as an investment hub through the Selayang Project Investment Development (SPID) initiative, which aims to accelerate approvals for major projects.
He said under SPID, project briefings and engagement sessions are held early to involve relevant agencies before investors submit their applications. Unlike similar programmes in other councils, SPID streamlines the process right up to licensing.
