Kota Kinabalu: Four assemblymen have urged City Hall (DBKK) to review proposed increases in operating licence and advertising fees affecting personal care businesses, including spas, reflexology centres and beauty salons.
Kapayan Assemblyman Chin Tek Ming, Likas Assemblyman Tham Yun Fook, Tanjung Aru Assemblyman Datuk Junz Wong and Api-Api Assemblyman Loi Kok Liang raised the matter with business representatives during a meeting chaired by Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who is responsible for DBKK affairs.
The issue follows DBKK’s move to enforce its 2018 by-laws, which had not previously been fully implemented, with the new fee structure scheduled to take effect in September and rates for some categories understood to be increasing by dozens of times.
The assemblymen and business representatives called on DBKK to review the fee structure, including considering lower rates, phased implementation or temporarily postponing enforcement, citing rising operating and living costs as well as frequent water supply disruptions.
Tham also raised the shortage of parking for healthcare workers around Queen Elizabeth Hospital II due to nearby condominium and shopping centre construction, as well as questions over the status, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), mitigation measures and potential impact of the proposed Waste-to-Energy (WTE) project at Kayu Madang.