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The Penang government has filed an appeal against a High Court ruling which denied it leave to pursue a judicial review aimed at reinstating its Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.

In its notice of appeal, state legal advisor Norazmi Mohd Nawawi said they were not satisfied with Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh’s decision on Aug 29.

The state government claimed the judge had erred in law by refusing to allow an extension of time to enable it to bring the review proceedings.

They added the federal government – which was named as co-respondent – indicated they had no objection to both the applications for leave and to extend time.

The state government also named the department of environment (DoE) and fisherman Zakaria Ismail as respondents in the appeal.

The Penang government wanted a court order to quash a decision made by a DoE appeal tribunal on Sept 8 last year revoking approval for the project.

The tribunal had ruled in favour of Zakaria and his fellow fishermen on the ground that it would affect their livelihood.

The state government’s leave application claimed that the tribunal’s decision was bad in law as it had been made on an “incorrect basis of facts”.

The PSR project, covering 17sq km, was intended to involve the development of three man-made islands in the waters off Permatang Damar Laut, near Bayan Lepas.

It was mooted as a funding module for the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

In March last year, the state government announced that SRS Consortium would reclaim one of the proposed three islands.

SRS Consortium had agreed to pay RM3.8 billion to reclaim half of Island A as part of a 30:70 joint venture with a state-owned company, with the larger portion held by the former.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com

Builders’ associations have urged the domestic trade and cost of living ministry to investigate the steep rise in concrete and cement prices since last month.

The Builders Associations from Johor, Melaka, Penang and the Perak Contractors Association said they hoped the matter would get the attention of the ministry and be resolved quickly.

“We also appeal to the ministry to carry out a review on whether there is any party that may have violated the Competition Act,” they said in a joint statement today.

They noted that the Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position in the market during the implementation of these price increases.

According to the associations, the prices of concrete and cement had gone up by 15% last month after a 15% increase in March.

They said this had put the entire construction industry under severe pressure.

“However, we hope that all parties in the construction industry can continue in this difficult business environment in a more sustainable way,” they said.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com

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There is cautious optimism over the outlook for the Penang property market, in spite of the inevitable headwinds and challenges that lie ahead.

Knight Frank Penang executive director Mark Saw says the overall outlook for the Penang market remains relatively positive despite the anticipated global recession, coupled with higher interest rates and inflation.

“The continuous hike of interest rates translates into higher monthly loan repayments, particularly housing loans.

“This reduces the probability of getting loan approval for individuals who apply for a property mortgage, resulting in relatively less property transactions,” he tells StarBizWeek.

Saw points out that any increase in rates will also cause additional financial burdens to existing subscribers of the loan facility, particularly conventional ones.

“On the other hand, higher inflation tends to lead to higher property prices, which indirectly reduces those who can afford homes,” Saw says.

He adds that rising interest rates and inflation are expected to cause imbalance in the property market in the medium to long term.

“However, the short-term impact on the property market should be minimal.”

With the recent general election now concluded and with a new government in place, Saw says there is hope that the unity government, led by Pakatan Harapan, will be able to steer the country in the right direction for the next five years.

“Optimism and hope are two ingredients in which they can build upon,” he says.

Fewer launches

CBRE|WTW, in its property market performance for the first half of 2022, says it is cautiously optimistic about the overall Penang market.

“Fewer new launches are expected due to the rise in raw material prices and shortage of foreign workers.

“Correction in the high-rise residential market will continue in the near future with fewer new launches and a reduction in overhang, as more unsold units are progressively absorbed by the market with the aid of developers’ marketing strategy.”

Saw says the Penang residential sector performed better during the third quarter of 2022, compared with the previous quarter in terms of both volume and value of transactions.

“A total of 4,879 residential transactions valued at RM2.21bil were transacted during the third quarter of 2022, which was an increase of 12.9% in volume and 15.7% in value of transactions, compared to the second quarter of 2022 (4,323 transactions valued at RM1.91bil).

“The reopening of borders did not have any major impact on the residential market in the state,” he says.

Knight Frank Research, in its Malaysia Real Estate Highlights report for the first half of 2022, says the return of property buyer confidence is bolstered by the success of the national Covid-19 immunisation programme, which led the country’s transition to the endemic phase.

“Coupled with the reopening of borders to international visitors, this is deemed positive to the recovery of the state’s residential property market.”

Office sector

Due to the limited supply of better grade office space in Penang, Knight Frank says the state’s office segment continues to hold steady with stable rents and occupancy rates.

“Generally, there is growing demand for new office buildings with better specifications, as well as those with Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) status due to the growing global business services (GBS) sector.”

CBRE|WTW, meanwhile, says the Penang office market is expected to prevail in the short term, as the office workplace remains significant for face-to-face interactions and team collaborations.

Retail sector

Boosted by the freedom euphoria as Malaysia transitioned into endemicity, as well as the relaxation of standard operating procedures, CBRE|WTW says the normalisation of shopping activities has been rapid as Malaysians have been travelling and spending more domestically.

“The short-term outlook for the retail sector remains in recovery with retail complexes becoming popular as hang-out venues. Retail complexes will continue attracting footfall through a safe and convenient shopping environment.”

However, it says the challenges to recovery are expected to abound, including inflation, which would result in the reduction of purchasing power, escalation of living costs and increase in business operation costs.

Industrial sector

Knight Frank believes that the industrial segment is the “silver lining” in the state’s property market.

“Batu Kawan Industrial Park will continue to be the main hotspot as over the next three years, Penang Development Corp (PDC) plans to develop between 100 acres and 150 acres of industrial land annually.”

Moreover, in order to attract more interests from foreign investors, Knight Frank says Penang is also planning a new industrial park in Kepala Batas.

“It will create a smart and high-tech industrial park with the best infrastructure for 5G Internet access.

“There is also encouraging demand for logistics facilities to serve the expanding eCommerce and logistics sector.”

Meanwhile, CBRE|WTW says the encouraging investment activities and external trade augur well for the industrial property sector.

Source: TheStar.com.my

The opening of Stonyhurst International School in Straits Quay marks one of the most significant milestones in the over 400-year history of Stonyhurst College, United Kingdom, and in Penang.

Built on 4.3 acres of land, Stonyhurst International School boasts state-of-the-art facilities, designed with 21st-century teaching and learning pedagogy in mind.

The grand opening of the school was opened by Penang Governor Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, and attended by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying, Titular Roman Catholic Bishop of Penang Right Rev Datuk Sebastian Francis, CMI deputy general manager Datin S. Bharathi, United Kingdom Stonyhurst College headmaster John Browne, Stonyhurst International School Board of Governors chairman Michael Sng, and Stonyhurst International School principal Justin Thomas Durling.

Also present were state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin, Bukit Bendera MP Syerleena Abdul Rashid, Air Itam assemblyman Joseph Ng and Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Daniel Gooi.

Chow congratulated the school for achieving an important milestone.

“Constructing a new school is not an overnight feat. It takes much effort in planning and perseverance.

“And the end product is what we finally get to witness this morning, which is another successful public-private partnership between the state government and a historic education establishment.

“As multinational companies continue to place faith in Penang, Penang must find ways to remain attractive to foreign investors.

“One way of achieving that is by building a vibrant mesh of industry players, including education institutions.

“There is a need to prepare the younger generation to meet the needs and demands of the future economy while encouraging young leaders to celebrate diversity in becoming effective and compassionate global citizens.

“Additionally, there is also a need to provide high-quality education to the families of foreign talents in the state.

“I am confident that Stonyhurst International School, offering the best in British education, will lead the way in helping Penang to groom and showcase its world-class talent pool for the future while supporting the Penang2030 vision of ‘A Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation’,” he said in his speech at the school in Straits Quay yesterday.

Browne spoke about three qualities – courage, virtue and family – in his speech.

“Your education here is designed to give you the courage to be yourself. Use your education to ‘change the world’ for others.

“The virtue tree at the entrance to this beautiful school demonstrates the central place of the Jesuit Pupil Profile to this whole community.

“At Stonyhurst Penang, we are developing young people of competence, conscience and compassion. It is a journey towards human excellence. As the school song says, being ‘men and women for others’,” he said.

Browne also told the students that the Stonyhurst family and Jesuit Pupil Profile are there to guide their boats on their journey to be the best that they could be.

Meanwhile, Sng said gratitude was the first value that the school was cultivating.

“We are encouraging our students to be grateful to their parents for the gift of education.

“Similarly, we are grateful for the privilege of educating the students who have been entrusted to us,” he said.

At the ceremony, the invited guests were treated to amazing music and singing performances by talented pupils.

Source: Buletin Mutiara