SEPANG, July 7 — Local authorities must diversify their assets to ensure community development and welfare agendas can be carried out sustainably without councils having to depend on traditional revenue, said Sepang Municipal Council (MPSepang) president Ani Ahmad.
She added that the council’s new Sepang Endowment Fund (TES) proves the new approach can more sustainably improve a local authority’s financial standing.
“If we only depend on traditional revenue sources, local authorities’ ability to expand benefits to the people would be limited. That’s why we must explore more sustainable financial models.
“The principal fund will be maintained while dividends from investments will be used to implement welfare programmes without affecting the original fund’s continuity,” she explained during a press conference after launching TES at the MPSepang headquarters in Cyberjaya here today.
Ani added that thus far, there has been no specific welfare programmes to be financed with TES, as MPSepang is still evaluating the community’s needs.
She said any funds channelled would be monitored by a committee to ensure the fund is managed transparently and complies with financial regulations.
She also said MPSepang is aiming for TES’ value to reach RM10 million every year with contributions from various parties, especially corporate firms that are active in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.
“A large number of big companies do implement CSR, but they need a trusted institution to channel funds. We want this fund to be a trustworthy platform to manage these contributions.
“MPSepang is also working to obtain tax exemptions from the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) to encourage more companies to channel contributions to the fund,” Ani added.
She said her two years of experience at the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) has helped her greatly in designing a more systematic financial governance system for MPSepang.
She also said MPSepang is different from MPAJ as Sepang still has significant development potential, with nearly half the area not fully developed.
Even though MPSepang is only 20 years old, Ani said that with good management and oversight, TES could bring great benefits to the council and people in the future.
