GEORGE TOWN, July 29 — Penang will continue to wait for Kedah to formally submit its claim over the state’s lease payments before responding, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said today.

He said this was not the first time Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor had spoken about pursuing a revision of Penang’s lease payment rates.

“I don’t think this is the first time we have had to answer this,” Chow told a press conference at his office in Komtar today.

“My answer remains the same. We are waiting. That’s all,” he added.

Asked whether the issue could strain relations between Penang and Kedah if the claim proceeds, Chow said it was premature to comment as Penang had yet to receive any formal demand.

“Our view has always been that, in the first place, we do not know what exactly the claim is,” he said.

“For me, it is premature to comment. So we will wait and see what they intend to claim, and we will respond after it is submitted to the court or to the Penang state government,” he added.

Sanusi reportedly said Kedah had finalised all the necessary legal documents after a comprehensive review by the state’s research and legal teams, with the findings endorsed by the State Executive Council.

He said the state was “only waiting for the right time to proceed.”

The renewed push follows a decree by the Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah, on July 5 calling on the federal government to review Penang’s lease payments in line with current values, saying the existing rates were far below their proper value.

The dispute centres on the annual payment made by the federal government to Kedah under arrangements dating back to the cession of Penang in 1786.

The federal government has paid Kedah an annual honorarium of RM10 million on Penang’s behalf since 2018, but Kedah is seeking an increase to RM100 million a year.

Sanusi has maintained that the payment obligation falls under Article 167 of the Federal Constitution, which governs the Federation’s obligations arising from pre-independence treaties.

Earlier this month, Chow said the matter was one for the federal government, noting that the payments do not come from Penang’s coffers and that the state had not held any discussions with Kedah on the issue.

He also said at the time that Penang had not received any legal correspondence from Kedah despite Sanusi’s earlier indication that a legal team had been assembled.