PUTRAJAYA, Dec 9 — The Retired Senior Civil Servants Umno Club (KUPKKM) today urged Putrajaya to exempt government pensioners from a proposed Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) assessment increase that has the group and other ratepayers up in arms.

The club’s president Tan Seri Aseh Che Mat today said that he has received numerous complaints from retirees living in the city over the proposed hike.

“People in Kampung Bukit Damansara have been bashing me over why the assessment rates increase by so much. Many retirees living in Bukit Damansara, Lembah Pantai, Wangsa Maju, are angry over the assessment hike,” he said at an appreciation luncheon for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“If there is to be any increase, please think of exempting pensioners... we hope YAB (Yang Amat Berhormat) will consider this,” he said, using the honorific reserved for the prime minister and other top leaders in the country.

The proposed increase in assessment led to public outcry in recent weeks, after homeowners received notices from the local authority informing them of hikes between 100 and 250 per cent to their existing annual rates.

The issue was exacerbated by the confusion arising from the conflicting announcements made that has left ratepayers uncertain over how much and when they must fork out for their bi-annual assessment payments.

There are 507,800 properties listed under DBKL, 56 per cent or slightly over 284,300 are commercial structures while the remaining 44 per cent or around 223,400 are residential properties.

Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has since clarified that the notice was not binding and new and finalised notices will be issued on January 1, next year.

He added that ratepayers will not have to pay the new rates immediately, as it is pending a final decision by a special panel that will go through all objections submitted by the public.