KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng has demanded accountability from the state government after land tax bills were revised downward by as much as 90 per cent following errors by the Land and Mines Office.

In a statement today, the Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyman alleged that a plot of land in Permatang Pauh had its land tax raised 2,722 times from RM25 to RM68,068, only to be reduced to RM12,155 after he intervened.

In a second case within his own Bagan parliamentary constituency, the land tax for a 258-unit low-cost flat in Bola-bola was raised five times from RM3,676 to RM22,120, before being cut to RM4,765 after Lim raised the matter publicly.

“If the land tax rate increase calculation system was indeed correct, fair, orderly and professional, what need would there be to reduce land tax by 80 per cent or 90 per cent?” he said.

Lim argued that reductions of such magnitude were conclusive proof that the state’s land tax calculation system was fundamentally flawed, failed and in urgent need of replacement, adding that such reductions proved the system was defective, failed and problematic.

He questioned why Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow continued to defend the professionalism and accuracy of Land and Mines Office officers when their own corrections told a very different story.

Lim said the pattern of repeated revisions exposed a systemic problem rather than isolated clerical mistakes, and called for the entire calculation framework to be reviewed and rebuilt from scratch.

He insisted that any new land tax calculation system must be developed only after thorough prior consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including landowners, residents and industry representatives.

Lim cited additional cases of extreme tax increases affecting ordinary residents, including a kampung house in Juru whose land tax rose 2,842 times from RM12 to RM34,118, and a 57-year-old man whose ancestral land tax surged 727 times from RM29 to RM21,103.

He also highlighted the case of a 62-year-old businessman from Simpang Empat, Seberang Perai Selatan, whose land tax on two plots quadrupled from RM6,901 to RM34,715, threatening to wipe out his livelihood amid falling business orders and mounting bank loan pressure.

“Why then is [the state] still defending government officers who made mistakes over the rakyat who have been wronged?” Lim demanded.

He further challenged Chow’s claim of being the state’s most hardworking elected representative, pointing out that the chief minister had reportedly received few direct complaints about the land tax hikes during his statewide tours.

Lim said it was meaningless to tour the entire state while remaining inaccessible to voters in Chow’s own Batu Kawan parliamentary constituency, where many of the worst-affected landowners reside.

He stressed that the scale and frequency of downward revisions made it impossible for the state government to credibly maintain that the original calculations were correct, fair or professionally executed.

“The chief minister should be reminded of the spirit of the struggle in conjunction with the DAP party’s 60th anniversary. The rakyat must be prioritised!” Lim concluded.