Needless for mayor to quit over rate hike, says Ku Nan

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — Irate ratepayers are being unfair in demanding the resignation of Kuala Lumpur’s mayor who was only carrying out his job in looking at raising property values in Malaysia’s capital city, Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said today.

The federal territories minister also gave his assurance the authorities would look at the complaints raised by city residents and property owners, after about 300 of them protested outside City Hall’s (DBKL) headquarters here this morning.

“It’s not fair for you to ask the KL mayor to resign,” Tengku Adnan told reporters after a function at the DBKL headquarters here today, referring to Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib.

“We’re doing our job. What we’re increasing is the valuation of your rentals. I have not come up with the rate yet,” he added.

The assessment rate is currently fixed at 6 per cent for residential properties and 12 per cent for commercial.

The minister maintained his previous stand that the revised rental valuation for KL properties would benefit property owners, but conceded that the hike could have been done gradually instead of a sudden increase after 21 years.

“Last time, you rent your place for RM70. Today, it could be RM500,” said Tengku Adnan.

“I can accept that maybe we’re still inefficient. Maybe we don’t have the funds to be inefficient,” he added.

He also said that DBKL received 20,000 objection letters against the proposed assessment rate increase today, bringing the total to 40,000 letters, which is less than 10 per cent of the 507,000 property owners in the city.

“The opposition is not championing anything. They’re trying to make KL residents go backward,” he said, stressing again that rental valuations should be revised to reflect current standards.

“We’re looking at waiving low-cost, medium-cost houses,” added Tengku Adnan.

At the rally organised by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) today, opposition lawmakers from the federal territories also said that local elections must be held so that the KL mayor is elected by voters, and not appointed by Putrajaya.

Tengku Adnan said again today that KL property owners will not be penalised for paying old assessment rates until the quantum of the city’s proposed tax hike is announced by March.