Penang I Property - Penang Property, House For Sale and Rent Blogspot

Friday, October 26, 2012

Heritage panel considering option of restoring the Rent Control Act

THE George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) panel is discussing various ways to attract locals to continue living in George Town’s heritage enclave.

Panel committee member Mohd Zahry Shaikh Abdul Rahman, who is also a Penang Municipal councillor, said one of the options being studied was to bring back the Rent Control Act, which will set the limit on the rental payable by a tenant staying in a heritage building.

“More and more foreigners are owning the old buildings in the inner city since they have the purchasing power.

“After buying up these properties, they increase the rentals and this is a worrying trend as the locals may not be able to continue living in the heritage enclave,” he told a press conference at the City Hall after a full council meeting yesterday.

Mohd Zahry said the panel initiated the discussions in an effort to preserve local cultures in the inner city of George Town.

The panel also suggested that the council implement a heritage management plan, which would ensure better site management and for developers to comply with Unesco heritage guidelines.

The repeal of the Rent Control Act in 2000 saw more than 10,000 inner city dwellers with a majority of poor tenants living in pre-war buildings moving out to low and low-medium cost flats in the other areas. - The Star

Extra lanes on expressway to open soon

TWO new lanes of the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway in Penang are set to open within a week.

A spokesman for the expansion and upgrading project said works were close to completion and would be officially launched by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“The U-turn (at Persimpangan Bertingkat Gelugor) is completed and the awning at the new pedestrian bridge (near the Batu Uban marine police base) will be finished in the next couple of days,” the spokesman said.

She added that work had been slightly delayed due to rain but the lanes would be opened to traffic in the very near future.

Easing the jam: A new U-turn and acceleration/deceleration lane have been completed on the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway

The expansion and upgrading work on the 400m stretch of the expressway began in January this year and was initially scheduled for completion in September.

The project, which reportedly cost RM3.7mil, is aimed at removing a bottleneck on the road near the marine police base that occurs when the expressway is reduced from three lanes to two lanes on each side.

The project also includes a new U-turn and acceleration/deceleration lane that would allow Bayan Lepas-bound vehicles to turn back to George Town without driving all the way to the Bayan Mutiara Interchange. - The Star

Chow: Highrise high density guidelines being finalised

GEORGE TOWN: The state government has clarified an online posting by blogger Anil Netto that the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) has frozen high-rise density development.

Instead, State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the guidelines for developers who want to build 87 units of houses per 0.4ha were still being fine-tuned, and not frozen as suggested by the blogger.

Chow stressed that applicants would find it more difficult after the fine-tuning is completed and enforced, as new conditions would be imposed on them.

“Applicants would be required to submit a Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA), and reveal whether the communal facilities would be surrendered to MPPP or not.

“They will have to submit a TIA report in their applications, to propose measures to be taken on alleviating traffic congestion when their projects are completed.

“Hopefully, they (the council) can complete the fine-tuning and sent it to the state planning committee to be adopted soon,” he said when met yesterday here.

He noted that several applications, which were also submitted before the fine-tuning, were still being considered.

He said that since the original guidelines were adopted by MPPP in 2010, only one project was approved under the category of 87 units per 0.4ha.

When contacted, Anil said his posting was based on the remarks by the MPPP president Datuk Patahiyah Ismail at a meeting with the representatives of the Penang Forum, which is a platform attended by non-governmental organisations here.

Anil said the forum participants had scheduled a meeting with Chow today. - The Star

PHT: City status is our right Miscommunication shouldn’t be an obstacle, says Salma

THE George Town city status is both the heritage and right of Penangites, according to Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) president Khoo Salma Nasution.

She said the city of George Town was a flourishing democracy in the 1960s and many citizens who had “tasted” that would like to see their “basic right” restored within their lifetime.

The city status, she added, should not be denied or forsaken due to administrative negligence or miscommunication.

Khoo was responding to reports that the Penang government was diligently pursuing the issue of George Town regaining its city status.

During the Malaysian Architects Association (PAM) ‘World Day of Architecture 2012’ celebration at a hotel recently, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said George Town was accorded the status by Queen Elizabeth II on Jan 1, 1957.

The theme for the celebration was ‘Architects are City Changers’.

According to earlier reports, the George Town City Council merged with the Penang Rural District Council to become the Penang Island Municipal Council in the 1970s.

This eventually led to the loss of the city status.

PAM president Saifuddin Ahmad said that this year marked the first time the association was organising the national celebration outside Kuala Lumpur.

He said although the Federal Government had redefined the parameters of what constituted a city, it did not take away the fact that George Town was the first urban area to be accorded the status.

“This was why we decided to hold the celebration here.

“For older and established cities like George Town that have been recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site, the process of rehabilitation, regeneration and establishment of new developments need to be looked at,” he said.

He said since the Green Build-ing Index — a green rating tool jointly developed by PAM and the Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia — was launched in 2009, Penang became the first state in the country to offer incentives for developers to obtain the certification.

In conjunction with the event, a one-day seminar featuring speakers like Khoo and Komtar architect Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat was held. - The Star

Guan Eng denies Penang house prices increased 400%

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has denied that the house prices in Penang had increased drastically by over 400%.

He said the price of condominiums/apartments only increased from RM301,500 to RM350,000, while the price of a detached unit had decreased from RM469,000 to RM415,000.

Lim said, in view of the rising property price, the state government had built 4,000 affordable units while the private sector had built 8,000 units since 2008.

Lim said the state planned to build another 18,000 affordable units, while the private sector would build another 20,000 units.

He said this in response to The Star report that the property price of condominiums/apartments increased by 499%, flats (339%), low-cost flats (157%) and detached units (103%) within a year.

According to the Penang Institute, the price of apartment/condominium went up from RM450,286 during the first quarter of last year to RM2.7mil during the corresponding period this year.

It was reported that the price of detached unit increased from RM1.7mil to as high as RM3.5mil, low-cost flats from RM68,000 to RM175,000, flats from RM132,000 to RM580,000 during the corresponding period. - The Star

Thursday, October 25, 2012

林冠英挑战蔡细历与星报　证明槟房地产价格飙升

（吉隆坡24日讯）槟城首席部长林冠英挑战《星报》及马华总会长拿督斯里蔡细历拿出证据，以证明槟州房地产的价格，从去年第一季度至2012年飙升。

蔡细历不应假造数据

他认为，蔡细历已在人民中失去道德公信力，也没政治权威，更不应再假造数据，欺骗人民来加强槟州屋价急涨的印象。

他今日发文告，针对蔡细历指槟州政府剥夺槟岛超过10万户家庭拥有房子的权利言论，作出反驳。

蔡细历也说，槟州房地产价格在短短一年内飙升，公寓价格上升411％、组屋339％、廉价屋上升157％及排屋上升103％。- 光华

冻结新发展密度计划　槟市局无权否决收回成命

（槟城24日讯）槟岛市政局被指“犯上”，向房地产商公会发出冻结新发展密度计划，唯在指示后，重新发出解冻信，收回成命。

槟岛市政局规划局本月向马来西亚房地产商公会槟城分会（REDHA）发出指示，冻结每依格87单位新发展计划，引起震惊，被指越权否决以槟州首长林冠英为首的槟州规划委员会（SPC）的指示；而在房地产商公会施压及晓以大义后，市政局终收回成命。

针对此事，槟岛市政局一站式图测审核中心（OSC）成员哈宾达星市议员向本报记者承认此事，他说有关冻结信是槟岛市政局规划局发出，公函也副本给市政局一站式图测审核中心。

他表示，在发现有关冻结信后，“我们认为市政局是无权来否决州政府规划委员会先前发出的每依格87单位的发展密度，市政局也在较后收回有关冻结指示。”；他进一步说，市政局规划局是在本月向房地产商公会发出冻结信。- 光华