AN MCA leader has called for Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to clarify the issue of quit rent spikes across rural and urban Penang, saying continued delays will only worsen the burden faced by smallholders who rely on agricultural land for their livelihood.
Its Penang state liaison committee chairman Datuk Tan Teik Cheng said many of the smallholders operate only small-scale orchards or agricultural plots with unstable incomes, and the sudden hike in quit rent had significantly increased their financial burden, making them the immediate victims of this policy.
“These smallholders are not large developers or investment groups. They are ordinary grassroots farmers who work hard to manage orchards and agricultural land,” Tan said.
“If the state government introduces policies without taking into account the realities endured by these small agricultural communities, it would reflect a serious disconnect from the concerns of the rakyat.”
Tan, who is also the party’s vice president, said smallholders are already dealing with fluctuating agricultural produce prices and rising production costs. Introducing a quit rent increase at such a time will undoubtedly place even greater pressure on them.
“Through the feedback gathered by the action committee, many smallholders have expressed shock over the scale of the quit rent flight. They are also dissatisfied with the lack of sufficient explanation and consultation before the policy was announced,” he continued.
“These farmers depend on their land to earn a living, yet they now face greater economic strain because of the higher quit rent. The state government must therefore exercise greater caution when implementing such policies.
“Since the smallholder community has clearly expressed strong concerns, the Penang state government should immediately review the policy instead of continuing to delay and leaving them in prolonged uncertainty.”
Tan further noted that the government’s responsibility is to support grassroots agricultural communities, not to impose additional burdens when they are already shoulder multiple pressures.
“MCA Penang therefore calls on the Penang state government to review the quit rent jump and engage in dialogue with smallholders to develop a more reasonable and fair solution,” he added.
In September last year, the state government reviewed the quit rent rate and reclassified rural to urban land throughout Penang, with hikes ranging from 29% to 200% for nearly 370,000 land titles, following a review overdue for more than 30 years.
The implementation of the new quit rent rates cover various land categories and uses, including residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and other special categories.
The total number of land titles involved in the quit rent review is 378,329, while the total number involved in the reclassification of land from rural to urban is 221,134.
The new rates came into effect this year, with a 50% rebate provided.
Chow has since defended the revisions as necessary to correct inequities arising from rates that have not been reviewed for the past 30 years, saying the revisions done on the rates was carried out in accordance with Section 101 of the National Land Code (Act 828).
He also noted that the last revision was undertaken in 1994 while the gazettement of urban areas has not been updated since 1966. ‒ Mar 12, 2026
Main image: Bernama
