Kajang by-election: Residents question exorbitant land premiums

The Star, Wednesday March 19, 2014

KAJANG: Several residents here are puzzled over the exorbitant land premium payment and assessment rate on agriculture land imposed by the Selangor government. 

 

Wong Sak Kuan, a 46-year-old businessman, said he was shocked to receive a notice of payment for the renewal of land lease of his 550sqm land in Kampung Bukit Angkat last year which amounted to RM185,987.

He said he received the first payment notice for the renewal for a term of 99 years in 2007 for RM47,836 and subsequently wrote a letter to the state government to ask for reduction.

“I got no reply till last year when I received another payment notice requesting me to pay RM185,987. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the payment notice,” he told a press conference organised by MCA deputy president Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong at MCA main operation room here on Tuesday.

Wong said he wrote two more letters to the state government to request for an instalment payment or easy payment scheme, but received no news till now. 

“I am not the only resident facing this kind of problem. Many others in my neighbourhood have a similar dilemma. How could my land premium increase by 400%?” he asked.

At the same press conference, another resident Ng Poh Khoon from Sungai Chua said the assessment for his agriculture land increased tremendously to RM662.20 after the Pakatan Rakyat took over Selangor. The initial assessment notice that he received five years ago was RM1,755.60, he said, adding that it was more than a 19,000% increase, he said.

Dr Wee said the Pakatan failed to do its part to protect the people’s interests.

“They make noise when the Barisan government increases certain fees of only about 15% or 20%, but this is ridiculous. 

“The state government must explain such drastic increase in payment,” he said, adding that it was okay for a step-by-step increase to help the people to cope with it.

He also said the state government was misleading when they introduced an easy payment scheme of RM1,000 for land premium.

“Most land owners do not know that they would have to pay a full land premium according to the latest market price when they sell the land years later as the state government did not explain the matter clearly to the people,” he said.

Dr Wee said the land issues would be the focus of Barisan Nasional’s candidate Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun if she was elected into the state assembly.