Kuching: DAPSY Sarawak Treasurer Wong King Yii has urged the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) and the relevant ministries to act swiftly in addressing persistent service failures at the Kuching branch.
He outlined three key demands:
- Replace the outdated queuing system with a fair and transparent online alternative.
- Fix recurring system outages and establish backup plans to ensure the public is never stranded again.
- Hold those responsible accountable for the repeated failures.
“The rakyat deserves better than failed systems and endless excuses. If LHDN insists on collecting every sen from hardworking Malaysians, then it must also respect them with services that work,” Wong stressed in a statement.
The call comes after recent complaints of long queues, sudden system breakdowns, and what Wong described as a “disgraceful disregard” for taxpayers’ time and dignity.
Explain the incident, Wong said it happened last week when the entire system went down, leaving taxpayers unable even to make payments.
“On other days, the outdated queuing system forces the public to line up without even knowing whether they will be able to get a number.
“Business owners arrive as early as 7 am, queue for hours, and by 9.30 am are told the numbers have already run out. For those who closed their shops just to come to LHDN, how is this “efficient”? he questioned.
He further said, why in 2025, people are still forced to queue unthinkingly at government counters and why can’t LHDN implement a proper online queuing system, or at the very least an electronic queuing system at the office, could save the public’s time by preventing them from waiting aimlessly, only to be told that there are no more numbers?
“The technology exists. Immigration Department can do it. Banks can do it. What excuse does LHDN have? This is not a minor glitch,” he said.
According to Wong, the failures not only waste the public’s time but also affect small and medium enterprises (SMEs), whose owners often have to close their businesses to visit the tax office.
“Empty rhetoric will not pay the bills or recover lost business hours,” he added.
