Voon Lee Shan
KUCHING (Dec 29): The increase in quit rent for land, landed and commercial properties effective Jan 1 next year is not justifiable, given the present economic situation, said Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan.
“The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government should consider that many businesses had closed down during the Covid-19 pandemic and citizens are struggling and have weak purchasing power to turn the economy around,” said Voon in a statement.
He remarked that the increase in quit rent next year was five times more for some properties.
“How could business people who own properties be able to make money to pay the increased quit rent when the people in the market have weak purchasing power?”
Voon noted that the quit rent for shophouses will be increased from RM0.22 to RM1.62 per square metre, while the rate for some commercial properties is increased from RM0.20 to RM1.46 per square metre.
He cautioned there might be a domino effect on many industries if businesses cannot stomach the increase in quit rent.
Voon also noted that goods and services in some places in the state were in fact 10 to 20 per cent more expensive than in Peninsular Malaysia.
Thus, the PBK president felt it was not sensible for the state’s Land and Survey Department to justify the reason for the increase by claiming the state had the lowest quit rent in the entire country.
“In Peninsular Malaysia, the quit rent which is higher than in Sarawak at the moment is justified because goods and services there are very much cheaper than in Sarawak.”
Voon added the state government did not need the additional revenue from the increase in quit rent as the state government is rich, especially with the tabling of a surplus budget recently.
“For businesses to pick up, perhaps the government needs to reduce or absorb the quit rent for 2023,” he suggested.