A table showing the breakdown of the revised quit rent for Town Land and Suburban Land categories.
KUCHING (Dec 30): Sarawak’s Land and Survey Department has denied the new revised quit rent is increased between 400-700 per cent as claimed by Sarawak Business Federation (SBF) secretary-general Datuk Jonathan Chai.
The department’s director Datu Abdullah Julaihi today said the new revised quit rent, which will come into effect on Jan 1, 2023, does not exceed 100 per cent increment.
He said the increased rates only affects eight per cent (59,710) out of a total of 734,388 registered under commercial, industry, office and recreation land use, whereas the remaining 92 per cent (674,678) land owned by Sarawakians are not subjected to quit rent.
“The new rate is relatively still the lowest in Malaysia, with reference to main cities like Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Ipoh, George Town and Johor Bahru. For example, commercial quit rent rate is RM4.60 for Kuala Lumpur, RM3.30 for Shah Alam, RM3.08 for Ipoh, RM2.58 for George Town and RM2.16 Johor Bahru per square metre,” he said in a statement today.
Chai on Thursday said the rates for commercial quit rents “is exorbitant and excessive”.
Chai was commenting on the department’s statement on Wednesday that: the new quit rent rates will increase from 22 sen to RM1.62 per square metre for shophouses; 20 sen to RM1.46 per square metres for other commercial use aside from shophouses and ports, mining, mineral and trace elements use; from 9 sen to 43 sen per square metre for industrial use; office and mixed development use from 5 sen to 23 sen per square metre; for recreational from 3 sen to 12 sen per square metre; oil and gas industry usage at 54 sen per square metre; and other land use from 2 sen to 8 sen per square metre.
Abdullah meanwhile clarified that the highest increase in Town Land category is for shophouses, the rate is increased from RM1.08 to RM1.62 per square metre (50 per cent) for Grade I, from RM0.81 to RM1.08 per square metre (33 per cent) for Grade II, from RM0.27 to RM0.54 per square metre (100 per cent) for Grade III. For the highest decrease in the same category is for others usage, Grade III from RM0.05 to RM0.04 per square metre, a decrease of 20 per cent.
For Suburban Land category, shophouses quit rent rate increased by 100 per cent for both Grade 1 from RM0.27 to RM0.54 per square metre and for Grade II from RM0.14 to RM0.28 per square metre. Others usage in this category, Grade II recorded no increase at RM0.02 per square metre.
For Country Land category, shophouses rate increased 100 per cent from RM0.11 to RM0.22 per square metre, and office use with the least increase of 25 per cent for office use, from RM0.04 to RM0.05 per square metre.
A table showing the breakdown of the revised quit rent for Country Land category.
Thus, he said the allegation and calculation of new quit rent rate up to 400 to 700 per cent is untrue and confusing.
However, based on the earlier statement sent, it did give the impression of the increase of several folds on the new quit rent rates.
For example, 22 sen to RM1.62 per square metre for shophouses compared to new statement citing from RM0.27 to RM0.54 (Grade III), from RM0.81 to RM1.08 (Grade II) and from RM1.08 to RM1.62 (Grade I) per square metre.