BY PRIYA MENON

PROPERTY owners in Shah Alam who have defaulted in paying up their assessment, beware – Shah Alam City Council is going to track you down.

Mayor Datuk Ahmad Zaharin Mohd Saad said the council had sought the assistance of the National Registration Department (NRD) to find the defaulters to recoup RM42mil in arrears.

The huge sum had accumulated due to the council’s inability to locate property owners who lived elsewhere, he added.

“We are getting the details from them (NRD) and we are already sending out notices to these people and we will continue to do so.

“We cannot let this slide and turn a blind eye,” he said during the council’s full board meeting yesterday.

Initially the council requested for property information of the defaulters from the Inland Revenue Board, however their request was turned down, said Ahmad Zaharin.

The issue cropped up when councillor Nor Ashikin Selamat asked for details on action taken against the defaulters at the meeting.

She said the accumulated amount was too high to ignore any longer and that the council should take severe measures to collect the dues.

Ahmad Zaharin said the council had been actively seizing movable properties and was even looking at legal action if their efforts continued to fail.

“It is even harder when the owner is overseas, so we will need to look at all the options available to help us resolve the problem,” he added.

Last year, the council managed to collect 90% of the assessment, which was one of the highest in the last few years.

At the start of the meeting, councillors were also briefed about the new Automated Vehicle Locating System for trash compactors that were recently installed.

The vendor briefed the councillors who wanted more details on the system that would help them track the compactors and the routes they ply to ensure better service for Shah Alam residents.

Some even wanted access to monitor the movement of trucks in their own zones to help resolve residents’ complaints.

Ahmad Zaharin, however, said it was hard for them to do so since it would require installing the system into the councillors’ mobile devices.

He, however, confirmed that since the system was customised for their needs they could include other necessary requirements when needed.

“The system is still new and we will need to monitor it for a while before we can find the weaknesses and fix that as well.

“We will probably continue monitoring it for the next three months,” he added.

See also page 6 for a story on Selayang Municipal Council’s action against assessment tax defaulters.