GEORGE TOWN, Sept 6 — The Penang Chinese Clan Council is in a state of limbo over its tussle with the Penang state government for the ownership of a heritage shophouse in Love Lane.
Unable to provide documents proving its right to the dilapidated corner shophouse, the clan council hopes the state government can clearly state its stand on the matter.
“We want to know, will the state government transfer the property back to us? If they don’t want to, just admit it.
“At least we won’t be stuck in this situation of not knowing how to go forward,” said clan council chairman Anthony Chang.
He said the clan council is willing to buy the property at market rate from the state government if the state government does not want to transfer it to them at a nominal fee of RM1 without documentation to prove their right to the property.
“We can buy it from them but the state government didn’t want to sell it to us. They don’t want to transfer it back to us without documents so we offered to buy it from them at market value but they don’t want sell it, so what now?” he asked.
Discussions between the clan council and the state government has been at a stalemate since late July after Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state is willing to transfer the property to the clan council at a nominal sum of RM1 if it can prove ownership of the building.
He also asked that the clan council send their lawyers to deal with the paperwork and legal documentation needed for the transfer to happen smoothly.
Chang said their lawyers met with state government officials and also held discussions.
“We have already provided other relevant documents; the receipts of quit rent and other land duties that we had previously paid on the house many years ago and the historical links to Meng Eng Soo, but we can’t provide any power of attorney letters by the trustees because they are dead,” he said.
He explained the trustees had verbally asked the clan council to take over managing the shophouse many years ago before they died.
“It was a verbal agreement, there was no documentation because this was a long time ago where such agreements were made based on trust verbally,” he said in a telephone interview with Malay Mail Online yesterday.
He said if the state government cannot release the property to the clan council because of this legality, it should inform them instead of keeping them in the dark.
“Just tell us if they don’t want to transfer it to us or if they have already sold it off. Don’t just leave this issue hanging like this,” he said.
The clan council had previously managed the property, at number 50, Love Lane, and paid some of the quit rent fees for it.
It was sometime in 2012 when the clan council received a notice of quit rent and assessment arrears that amounted to more than RM20,000.
“That’s when our clan council chairman at that time decided to consult the state government on what we could do to transfer the property ownership to the clan council before we pay the arrears,” he said.
He claimed that they met with state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow in 2012 and that the latter suggested that they let the state government forfeit the building.
He claimed Chow promised that the state would transfer it back to the clan council and even affirmed that everything was in order except for the final step—awaiting Lim’s approval.
“If we didn’t approach them at that time, there would not be any issue now… we would just continue paying the quit rent and manage the building,” he lamented.
The clan council held a dinner with over 1,000 attendees last month to send a message to the state government that they are still waiting for a resolution to the whole issue.
“We will hold a 10,000-people dinner event next to show that we are serious in wanting a resolution to this issue and hope the government will respond to it,” he said.
The clan council is an umbrella body for about 82 clan associations in Penang. Chang said all its members are supportive of their claim to the property.
“We intend to turn it into a museum to showcase the history of the building and its links to the Ghee Hin secret society. That’s why we are willing to buy it at market value. If the state doesn’t want to give it back to us or sell it to us, then say so,” he said.
The Love Lane house issue has been in the media spotlight ever since Chang told off the state government and asked for the return of the building to the clan council in his speech during heritage celebrations in July.
The property used to belong to the Eng Siew Kee Kongsi and a five-member board of trustees was entrusted to manage the property back in 1909.
The building was forfeited by the Penang state government in 2013 due to non-payment of arrears in quit rent.
