Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state executive council agreed to lower the rates for certain old land titles used for business and industrial purposes, especially those without planning approval.

He said such land might include sites with temporary structures, depots and lorries.

To date, there were over 800 cases of land used for industries without planning approval.

The new rate is 70 sen per sq m in urban areas and 50 sen per sq m in rural areas.

Previously, some of these plots were assessed under higher business or industrial rates, ranging from RM2.80 to RM3.25 per sq m for business land and RM3.25 per sq m for industrial land.

The issue drew strong complaints, especially from owners of older titles who said their bills jumped sharply after the state revised its quit rent structure.

Chow said the latest move would substantially reduce the burden for the affected group, but they would no longer receive the 50% rebate given to most other landowners this year.

“They cannot enjoy two big discounts,” he told reporters at Komtar.

He also said the state would not return to the very low rates some owners previously paid.

Penang has already announced several relief measures, including a 50% rebate for most landowners, nominal RM50 charges for schools and certain non-profit land, and instalment payments for those facing difficulty.

Chow said 163,262 landowners had paid as of yesterday, or just over 54% of last year’s active payers.

He acknowledged that collections were slightly behind last year’s, saying some owners might be waiting to see if further concessions would be announced.

He said the state had received 4,001 appeals, 3,043 of which were still under consideration.