Penang Island will soon be declared a city, the state government confirmed today, after announcing Putrajaya’s approval of its status application made back in January 2010.

State local government and traffic management committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the Cabinet finally approved the upgrade at a meeting last month.

He told a press conference here that the Penang government received a letter from the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry on December 10 notifying the state of the decision.

Chow added, however, that final approval will have to come from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“We have to wait for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to formally declare George Town as a city before it is official,” he said.

With the city status, the Penang Island Municipal Council will now be renamed as the Penang Island City Council.

Chow said this also means the council would be able to hire more officers and staff members, apart from an increase in jurisdictional powers in matters like traffic management and enforcement.

It is understood that when applying for Penang Island’s city status in 2010, the state had also sought to open up the council to include more vacancies for staff members in the council.

With its status upgrade, the Penang Island City Council will now also have the power to revise the island’s boundaries to include reclaimed lands such as Macallum Street, Seri Tanjung Pinang and Sungai Gelugor.

The existing boundaries under the Penang Island Municipal Council do not include these areas and covers only George Town instead of the entire island.

For example, the installation of traffic lights within the town area falls under the council’s purview but similar works done outside this boundary is handled by the Public Works Department.

Penang’s capital, George Town, was already granted city status by way of royal charter from Queen Elizabeth II on January 1,1957 but has not been acknowledged by Putrajaya.

The whole of Penang including the mainland has two municipal councils, one the Island Municipal Council and another, the Seberang Perai municipal council on the mainland.

Source: The Malay Mail Online

Joint management bodies (JMB) of high-rise buildings in four states and the Federal Territory want a special tariff for electricity to be introduced.

They are asking the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry to intervene in the matter.

Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik said the JMBs and other management corporations from Penang, Perak, Selangor, Johor and Kuala Lumpur had submitted 403 petitions to the ministry.

“They are asking for a new policy to help them cope with the high electricity tariff.

“We want the ministry to urge Tenaga Nasional Berhad to set a new tariff for residential complexes without the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

“Flats, condominiums, serviced apartments and gated communities should be allowed to have a new tariff that is higher than the tariff for residential premises but much lower than tariffs for commercial premises and with a flat rate,” he said.

He added that the tariff should cover all common areas and facilities in residential high-rise buildings such as the corridors, surau, lifts, water pumps, community halls and management offices.

At a recent press conference in Anson Road in Penang, Ng said that currently, the electricity commercial tariff for high-rise buildings was higher than the tariff imposed on other residential units.

“To add to it, there was a 15% electricity hike earlier this year, and with the GST imposed next year, there will be a 6% hike on top of that,” he said,

“The commercial tariff is subject to GST and there is no way of avoiding it.”

He said that the issue required the urgent intervention of the ministry.

“We hope something can be put in place before April 1,” he said.

He added that residential buildings with more than 300 units would be subjected to the GST.

A total of 366 petitions were from Penang while the rest came from the other states and Kuala Lumpur.

Source: StarProperty.my

Work to revitalise the abandoned Majestic Heights Phase 2A project in Paya Terubong, Penang, can go ahead only with the cooperation of at least 220 owners.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that so far, 127 unit owners had signed the agreement to execute the commencement of the project.

“We need at least 93 more buyers to come forward to start this project again,” he said at a press conference at Komtar yesterday.

Lim added that each owner needed to pay RM10,000 upon signing the agreement.

“The amount was fixed after a successful negotiation between us and the developer PLB KH-BINA,” he said, adding that initially, the proposal was for each owner to pay RM45,000 for the rehabilitation.

Lim said the company has also agreed to extend the defect liability period from three months to 12 months.

“I hope the purchasers will settle this issue quickly so they can have their homes ready soon,” he added.

The buyers can sign the agreement tomorrow at Komtar Level 53 or make an appointment with the law firm Salina, Lim Kim Chuan & Co.

The project known as Taman Paya Terubong (Majestic Heights Phase 2A) was abandoned in 1998.At that time, the physical completion was already 70%.

The project has 370 units comprising 342 low medium-cost units, six shoplots and 22 light industrial units.

Source: StarProperty.my

Garden City, an upcoming mixed development by Temasek Land Sdn. Bhd. (formerly undertaken by Woolley Development) in Raja Uda, Butterworth. Strategically located along Jalan Raja Uda, adjacent to Woolley Avenue shop offices. It is about 10 minutes drive to Penang Sentral, under 15 minutes to Penang Bridge.

This development comprises six blocks of 13-storey high-rise towers featuring 420 serviced suites, smallest unit size starts from 920 sq.ft. There is also a 3-storey commercial building with 147 retail and office lots.

Property Project : Garden City
Location : Raja Uda, Butterworth, Penang
Property Type : Mixed development
Land Tenure: Freehold
Total Units: 420 (condo), 147 (retail)
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer: Flexizone Venture Sdn. Bhd.
Last update: Jan 2019

by Charles Tan

Anyone favouring a landed property within the Penang island? With this question, I can see majority putting up their hands but a few would then ask, which part of Penang island? If it’s Greenlane, I can see 10 / 10. If it’s in Sungai Ara, suddenly, half of the ‘original’ Penangites would put down their hands. Haha. Maybe now the acceptance is higher but when given a choice between Greenlane and Sungai Ara, the choice is obvious. Then the price of the property comes into the picture and suddenly those who put down their hands may put their hands up again. After all, Sungai Ara is pretty close to both the bridges, thus providing access to the world outside, right? Now, what if the area in question is Balik Pulau? Laksa, durians and Ais Kacang comes into the mind but modern housing developments? Not really? I think many would be missing many of the actions if the mindset remain the same as many years ago when Sungai Ara would have elicited the same reaction.

Honestly, have you ever been to some of the Balik Pulau developments before? Going up from the Relau area, it takes about 20-25 minutes, depending on how fast you drive to reach your lower priced landed properties within the island of Penang. If you go up from the Teluk Kumbar side, it should take between 16 – 20 minutes. One such development that I have been to before and is still continuing its development phases would be MTT’s Botanica CT residential project. The price when i visited it many years ago? RM290,000 for landed terrace. There’s no such pricing these days even if it is still considerably lower than other more popular areas. For now, the land availability is still there, thus you do not yet need to picture modern condos. You can think about nice landed developments of terrace houses priced from RM680,000 onwards and with a built up of 1,959sf for the two-storey and up to 2,480sf for the three-storey terraced ones.

Now for the usual question. Can buy for investment? Well if you had asked 5 years ago, the answer is Yes. if you have asked 3 years ago, answer is still Yes and if you ask today, answer is still yes. However, if your investment entails renting out the units, it will not be easy. The whole Penang island itself, rental is never easy. Furthermore, it’s very low and you would not be able to cover your mortgage unless you are very well connected to the new expatriates coming to work in Penang. I feel that the best would still be to buy and stay instead because until today, Balik Pulau has fresher air compared to many congested areas in Penang. I would not mention those areas.

What about the distance and the duration? Well, let’s be objective. If you work in town, get real, Balik Pulau is a tad too far away. This is the same as if you work in Bayan Lepas, why would you want to stay in Tanjung Tokong, even if everyone tells you that the water supply in Tanjung Tokong is cleaner? (Yes, not a joke, my Tanjung Tokong friend told me this when I bought my Sungai Ara condo many years ago). The jams within Penang island between the route from Tanjung Bungah till Bayan Lepas will get worse and not better. Make up your mind and choose accordingly. Oh yeah, please do get ready for the usual 40-minute to reach home journeys moving forward even if the distance is just a few kilometres. If you are working at the other side, buy the other side and if you are working in Bayan Lepas area, then Balik Pulau is indeed another potential choice. Whether it’s the best for you or not, that’s your decision after you have taken a look. Happy ‘Landed’ buying.

>> This opinion article comes courtesy of Charles, the founder of kopiandproperty.com. He is popular for sharing his thought on property investment mostly based on his own 11 years experience as well as from all the readings and conversations with property gurus in the industry. (Source)