Seremban set to become a city

SEREMBAN is on its way to be declared a city on Sept 9 next year, said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

Hasan: 'We are also waiting for the Seremban Municipal Council and Nilai Municipal Council to merge'.

He said the state government has written to the Housing and Local Government Ministry on this and was expecting a favourable reply.

“We are also waiting for the Seremban Municipal Council and Nilai Municipal Council to merge. Once this is done, we could be considered for city status,” he said.

Mohamad said with the merge, Seremban would have more than the required population to be declared a city.

“We would also be eligible as the revenue earned by both councils would be sufficient to run a city,” he said.

The combined population of Seremban and Nilai at present is slightly above 500,000.

The population in Nilai skyrocketed following the setting up of several research and educational institutions such as the Nilai Cancer Institute, Inti International Univer-sity College, Nilai International University College and Kolej Universiti Islam Sains Malaysia had set up operations there.

Once declared, Seremban would be the 13 city in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Ipoh, Shah Alam, Malacca, Alor Star, Petaling Jaya, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching North, Kuching South, Miri and Kuala Terengganu.

“Once Seremban becomes a city, the people here would enjoy more benefits which includes higher allocations from the Federal government for development purposes,” he said.

Asked if the assessment and quit rent would be increased once Seremban is declared a city, Mohamad said there was no such plan.

On a separate matter, Mohamad said the state government has also instructed the Department of Environment to monitor the construction of the RM100mil centralised pig farm in Sepang.

“We asked the DOE to check if we (the state) would face environmental problems once the facility is in operation. If it doesn’t, then we have no objection to the relocation of the pig farm near our border,” he added,

On financial aid for poor families in the state, Mohamad said to date, some 10,500 families had received assistance from the state government.

“We would be giving aid to another 1,500 families very soon,” he said, adding that this was part of the state government’s social safety net scheme.

By The Star (by Sarban Singh)