Penang Turf Club : Having cake and eating it too

anilnetto.com

12-4-2010

The Penang Turf Club is baulking at the idea of paying quit rent at commercial rates after its Batu Gantung land was controversially rezoned from ‘recreational’ land to ‘mixed development’ in June 2007.

The Director of Land and Mines has issued a bill for quit rent for 2008-2010 totalling RM6.1 million (less amounts already paid), which works out to about RM2.4 million a year (or RM2.58/sq metre). The Turf Club had previously been paying RM0.5 million a year in quit rent (or RM0.54/sq metre).

The Turf Club wants the old rate to be used, arguing that the land is still being used for horse racing.

The state government, on the other hand, says the Turf Club can afford to pay the new rates – and it definitely has a point. The club has RM48.5 million in fixed deposit, and it generated a surplus before tax of RM3.9 million in 2009.

Incidentally, the Turf Club plans to develop two parcels of its land and has submitted an application to the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) and another to the Land Office. It has plans to build mansions on one end of its property and rent them out to generate even more income.

If the Turf Club still wants to pay quit rent at the old non-commercial rate, then there is a simple solution: Get the land rezoned back to recreational status and all will be fine. Such a move would also secure the area as a green lung for future generations – and there would still be hope for a public park some time down the road. A win-win solution.

The state government should use that as a carrot to get the land rezoned back to recreational status. The MPPP can also use similar considerations when it comes to billing assessment.