Ratepayers Association urges Penang authorities not to increase charges

THE Penang Ratepayers Association has urged local authorities to halt any plans to increase charges as the people continue to struggle with rising living costs.

Its chairman Lee Kim Noor, a lawyer, called for a better alternative, as the working class continues to suffer from low wages amid a spike in food, healthcare and transport prices.

Lee said the timing to increase rates was inappropriate due to the current high inflation, high water tariffs and with petrol subsidy cuts looming.

“We, as the ratepayers, would like to urge the state government not to put any more burden on taxpayers and stop any increases,” she said.

Any increase should be done gradually and minimally instead of sudden high increases like a 50 per cent hike in parking charges, she cited as an example.

“It is the wish of ratepayers that Penang should spend within its means and not operate on a deficit budget, which will soon be passed onto the ratepayers,” she said.

Lee said that the state can find alternatives by firstly holding public dialogues and town halls with ratepayers before imposing any increase in public services.

She also pointed out that it was not true that the quit rent was not reviewed for 30 years as claimed by the state administration when announcing the plan to hike up the land tax.

“In 2019, Penang, which has several high rises, saw a windfall when parcel quit rent was introduced,” she said.

She said at that time, the association raised an issue with the formula used to calculate the parcel quit rent and asked for it to be reviewed but their objections were ignored.

She said Penang Island’s parking rate is one of the highest while the parking fee in Seberang Perai is only 40 sen per hour.

The new parking rates on the island will be 60 sen for 30 minutes, up from 40 sen, and RM9 for a full day, up from RM6. - The Vibes, November 29, 2024.