FORMER Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has urged the present Penang administration not to "rubber-stamp" the recent hike in quit rent, with some landowners alleging that there is generally a huge increase compared to last year's rate.
Seeking a review of the quit rent rationalisation exercise, he said that it is extreme and needs to be reviewed due to the mounting complaints from those affected.
"It has displeased many landowners.
"This does not make sense. The steep hike is unbecoming," said Lim in a social media posting.
The Air Putih assemblyman and former Finance Minister said that there could be an oversight on the part of the land officer or on the automated system.
"But we cannot accept whether it is a mistake of an officer or a system. This must be addressed and rectified," said Lim.
He claimed that some landowners now want to sell their land because they cannot afford the steep hike in quit rents.
Penang is implementing a major quit rent increase (land tax) starting January 1, 2026, with hikes between 29% and 200% across various land categories, stating that the last assessment was done over three decades ago.
The hike in quit rent was also necessitated, as the state seeks more revenue to compensate for the huge investments the state is undertaking for an upgrade in infrastructure, from new bypass highway roads to new social amenities.
To mitigate this, the state announced a 50% rebate for 2026.
The new rates are due to town boundary reclassifications.
There are rebates of up to 50% offered, and over 370,000 landowners in Penang are affected by the revision of quit rent rates.
Landowners are allowed to appeal, especially for First Grade land.
The new rates follow the gazetting of 10 expanded townships and 25 new townships. - February 8 2026.
