THE Penang branch of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) has moved to dispel claims that Kedah is attempting to wrest the state of Penang, insisting instead that the northern state is pressing for increased federal lease payments grounded in historical arrangements predating independence.
Penang PAS information chief Anas Soffy Abd Wahid said the matter had been politically distorted, arguing that Kedah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Muhammed Sanusi Md Nor was simply seeking what the state considers a fairer sum from Putrajaya.
“Kedah’s demand is not to take back Penang, as portrayed by DAP Penang’s political narrative, but to seek annual lease royalty payments from the Federal Government, not from the Penang government,” Anas said, reiterating that the state’s position had been misrepresented.
The controversy resurfaced after Sanusi told his state legislative assembly that Kedah was in the final stages of appointing a legal team to pursue the matter in court.
Historically, Kedah leased Penang Island and a strip of the mainland to the British East India Company through Captain Francis Light, who identified the island’s strategic potential as a port at the northern gateway of the Straits of Malacca, now one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors.
Since independence in 1957, the British obligation to pay Kedah RM10,000 annually has been assumed by the Federal Government, as Penang was handed over to the Federation as part of the Straits Settlements.
In 2018, after intervention from then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the payment was revised to RM10 million in the form of an honorarium.
Kedah is now asking for a far larger annual lease royalty of RM100 million from the Federal Government. According to Anas, the claim is rooted in continuity of historical rights rather than an attempt to redraw borders.
He maintained that Penang was “not the absolute property of the British, nor of the Federal Government”, but “leased land belonging to Kedah, handed over to be administered by the Federal Government of Malaya — and not a transfer of ownership by Kedah.”
He rejected suggestions that the dispute touches on racial politics or territorial sovereignty. “It is about the historical rights of the state of Kedah, which have never disappeared despite attempts to conceal them with countless excuses.
Penang remains a state under the Federation, but Kedah’s rights as the original landowner have never been erased,” he said.
The issue is expected to surface when the Penang Legislative Assembly convenes its Budget session later today. - November 17, 2025
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