MPAJ president eyes fresh ideas to bring in revenue

Ani (fourth from left) with MPAJ councillors after the swearing-in ceremony. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star

The newly elected Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) president has pledged to look for new ways of revenue generation to keep up with residents’ expectations.

At the swearing-in ceremony which took place at the council’s headquarters yesterday, Dr Ani Ahmad said only 53.06% of the areas under the council’s purview was made up of forests.

She said assessment tax collection could be carried out on the remaining residential and commercial zones, which only made up 19.11% and 3.08% of the area respectively.

“From these revenue generating areas, some of those have also become somewhat ‘cold’ in terms of economic value, which means a further reduction of revenue for the council.

“Despite this, residents’ expectations of our services remain high. As such, we will need to find a way to manage these expectations despite not having increase in revenue for the past 30 years,” she added.

Ani, who received her doctorate in human resource development from Universiti Putra Malaysia and is former Hulu Langat district officer, said coming up with new ideas for revenue generation would require concerted teamwork.

“For now, I see potential in two areas; our one-stop centre for residents to drop off their unwanted vehicles where they will pay the council a fee, and our ewaste collection initiative.

“The latter, which has taken root in schools, is well received with students bringing in thousands of kilos to be recycled,” she said.

The fact that Ampang Jaya is also a draw for nature lovers who flock to its scenic hiking trails and fruit orchards has not escaped the new president’s observation either.

“We will certainly look at ways to generate income from ecotourism.

“For now, entrance to many of our nature parks are still free,” she said.

Ani urged campsite operators under MPAJ’s purview to register their sites with the council.

“Out of 36, only six have registered. There is still no news from the other 30.

“They should realise that all businesses require a licence to operate.

“Failure to comply ultimately means that they are operating illegally.

“For camp sites, it is also beneficial for the authorities to know exactly where they are.

“It is not fair for these operators to ignore the council only to turn around and blame us when disaster befalls them later,” she said.

On issuing fines as a means to increase revenue, Ani said the manpower and time for the enforcement exercise would cost more than the summonses issued to food operators who eschewed the wearing of face masks or smokers who continued to smoke at eateries.

MPAJ’s enforcement team of 280 currently has to look after 800 restaurants and 5,000 petty food traders under its jurisdiction.

“The power to fine smokers at eateries falls under the district Health Department,” she added.

She said it would be easier to tackle these behavioural issues with awareness.

“Once the food operator is made aware that wearing a mask also denotes hygienic practices, their mindsets will change,” she said.

Ani is MPAJ’s ninth president. She replaces Mohd Fauzi Mohd Yatim, who is now Subang Jaya mayor.