KEPALA BATAS: Penang Barisan Nasional claims that the state’s move to increase land premium charges, has inadvertently led to a rapid rise in property prices in Penang.

State Barisan working committee deputy chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman said the DAP-led state government had apparently hurriedly increased the land premium rates so it could cash in on the demand for property in the state.

“When the state government increases the premium as it wishes, the developers are forced to increase the value of the houses. It is a simple cause-and-effect factor,” Zainal Abidin said.

The low to middle-income local residents were the victims, as they could not afford to buy even low to medium-cost houses in Penang, he told a press conference before a Barisan walkabout at the Pasar Ramadan here yesterday.

Also present were Penang Gerakan chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan, state MIC chairman Senator Datuk P.K. Subbaiyah, PPP chief Datuk Dr Loga Bala Mogan, state Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir, Kepala Batas MCA division head Goh Poh Chuan and state Gerakan Wanita chief Ng Siew Lai.

Penang Barisan also challenged Lim to produce the statistics concerning the total of low to medium-cost units approved by the state government since 2008.

Zainal Abidin said he was issuing this challenge to Lim after the latter wrote in his blog that Penang had approved 11,596 low and medium-cost units priced between RM42,000 and RM72,500.

“We would like to know whether the approval was for houses built by the state or Federal Government,” he added.

SOURCE: The Star