SIBU: Sibu is moving closer towards achieving city status after successfully increasing its financial reserves to RM47 million, compared to RM19 million in 2019.
Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting said one of the main requirements for a local authority to be upgraded to city status is having at least RM50 million in reserves.
“When I became chairman in 2019, people often asked why Miri could become a city but Sibu could not.
“When I looked at the criteria to become a city, we were lacking only two things. First, our bank account was not large enough because the government requires a minimum of RM50 million in reserves.
“This year we have reached RM47 million, whereas when I first took office in 2019, we only had RM19 million,” he said at the unveiling ceremony of the WAK Sibu Festival 2026 calendar held here recently.
He added that the second requirement that still needs to be fulfilled is a population of 300,000, with Sibu now approaching that figure.
However, Ting stressed that financial strength is an important element as the government would not be able to support efforts to upgrade a town if the local authority lacks strong financial standing.
Meanwhile, he said Sibu is also undergoing demographic changes, which he described as a positive development.
He said the town, once known as being predominantly Chinese, is now becoming more diverse with the growing population from various ethnic communities, especially the Iban community.
