BUTTERWORTH, 12 March 2026 (The Capital Post) — Lim Guan Eng has questioned the significant increase in quit rent imposed on Rumah Pangsa Kos Rendah Pusat Perniagaan Raja Uda, commonly known as the Bola-Bola Flats, describing the 502 per cent hike as unreasonable given that the development remains classified as low-cost housing.
In a statement shared on social media, the Bagan Member of Parliament said the annual quit rent for the property had risen from RM3,676 to RM22,120, despite the flats maintaining their status as low-cost housing since their completion 15 years ago.
Lim argued that the explanation provided by Chow Kon Yeow that the increase was due to the failure to convert the master title into individual strata titles for the 258 units was inaccurate.
According to him, the master title had originally permitted the construction of low-cost flats, and converting it into strata titles would not alter the land use designation, which remains for low-cost housing.
The Bola-Bola Flats received their Certificate of Completion and Compliance on Jan 3, 2011, marking the completion of the development. Lim noted that the building has remained a low-cost housing project since residents moved in and has not been upgraded into a condominium or other higher-value residential development.
He added that the master title for the land is freehold and classified as first grade, with the land use listed as “nil”, which allows for various uses including residential development. The project had previously received the necessary approvals from the Penang Land and Mines Office as well as the Seberang Perai City Council for the construction of low-cost flats.
Lim questioned why the quit rent was drastically increased when the land use and the nature of the development had remained unchanged over the past 15 years.
He also referred to the state government’s explanation that quit rent adjustments are calculated based on four criteria urban or rural classification, land size, current land use and applicable quit rent rates arguing that none of these factors had changed in the case of the Bola-Bola Flats.
Lim further claimed that the steep increase suggests flaws in the current system used to calculate quit rent, pointing out that some landowners have reportedly experienced increases of more than 3,000 times.
He called for the existing mechanism to be reviewed and replaced with a more transparent and equitable formula that ensures reasonable adjustments while taking into account social justice considerations, adding that public consultation should be conducted before implementing any new system. – The Capital Post
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