Draft for new local authorities (dog license) by-laws completed

KUCHING: The Local Government Ministry has completed the draft for the new Local Authorities (Dog License) By-laws, requiring dog owners to vaccinate their dogs with anti-rabies vaccination before any license can be issued.
Its minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian said the matter would be discussed and deliberated at the on-going workshop jointly organised by the Medical Department and World Health Organisation.
"Due to the recent rabies outbreak affecting the state, there is urgency for the ministry to also consolidate and improve the provisions of the various Dog License By-Law of the local authorities," he said when winding up debate pertaining to the ministry in the state legislative assembly here today.
Sim, who is also State Housing Minister, said his ministry also worked closely with the Malaysian Institute of Architects (Sarawak Chapter) in addressing some of the inconsistencies arising from the various interpretation of the Building Ordinance 1994 by the practitioners and the local authorities.
He said to date, the ministry has produced nine policies guidelines to enable the professionals and the local authorities to have a common understanding of the building requirements.
Sim also highlighted that local authorities are under tremendous pressure to deliver the best services to the people and currently almost all of them are operating on deficit budget.
"My ministry is continuously looking into ways to improve the financial resources of the local authorities and to beef up their effectiveness and efficiency," he said.
Meanwhile, deliberating on housing, Sim said the ministry would continue to work with the federal government to enable Sarawak to have a sizeable share of the RM2.2 billion allocation and sufficient number of MyBNHome built in Sarawak for a household with a monthly household income of below RM3,900.
Sim said currently 605 private housing projects are recorded in the state as at Oct 31 this year and out of the total 20 projects, 3% was classified as "sick" projects.
"Eight projects have been successfully revived through effective coordination by the ministry with interested parties, and the ministry will continue to monitor them closely," said Sim. — Bernama