Penang CM: Quit rent hike was sensationalised, fewer than 1pc submitted appeal

GEORGE TOWN, March 4 — Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today said the quit rent hike in Penang is being sensationalised by certain parties who are claiming the increase was a few thousand times higher than the previous rate.

Chow said this was not true, and that out of 370,000 new bills that were sent out, the state received only 300 appeals.

“We understand that some lots will see a large increase so we have given 50 per cent rebate to all categories so that for some, after the rebate, they are paying less than they used to pay,” he said in a press conference at his office in Komtar today.

“We received less than one per cent of appeals against the new quit rent rates,” he said.

Chow called on landowners to submit appeals if they felt the new rates were unfair or not according to the correct classification.

“Do not question the integrity of the officers, they did the calculations for the rates according to the law, these were not plucked out from the air,” he said.

Earlier, Chow explained that quit rent was calculated based on the location of the land, whether it was in an urban or rural area, the size of the land, the current usage of the land and the current rate.

He said the rate is 70 sen per square metre for residential land in urban areas and 50 sen per square metre for residential land in rural areas.

“Previously, the rates on agricultural lands were calculated by hectares, at RM9.88 per hectare, but if the lands were converted into industrial or commercial use, the rate would be RM3.25 per square metre,” he said.

Therefore, if agricultural land previously paid only RM50 a year but its current use is industrial, the new rate would be RM162,500 if the land is five hectares (50,000 square metres).

He also said the last time quit rent rates were reviewed was in 1994.

“The formula to calculate the quit rent for 2026 is seen as more fair to all landowners without discriminating between first grade and non first grade lands,” he said.

He said landowners should submit appeals in cases where there were discrepancies in land classifications.

“We will reassess and review each case,” he said.