{
  "id": 5454637,
  "title": "Lim Guan Eng calls for Penang fee, quit rent and water tariff hikes to be deferred",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/lim-guan-eng-calls-for-penang-fee-quit-rent-and-water-tariff-hikes-to-5454637",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-04T00:50:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/09/04/lim-guan-eng-calls-for-penang-fee-land-tax-and-water-tariff-hikes-to-be-deferred/233827"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — DAP lawmaker Lim Guan Eng has called on the Penang administration to postpone fee, quit rent, and water tariff increases, in line with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's reformist approach. Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and state executive councillor Zairil Khir Johari should follow suit to fulfill their election pledges and alleviate residents' living costs. Many Penang landowners are struggling with the substantial increase in quit rent this year, exacerbated by economic uncertainty and rising fuel prices due to the US-Iran conflict. Lim urged Chow Kon Yeow to delay all increases until global economic stability is restored. He also expressed opposition to Zairil's refusal to support a postponement of the 20-sen increase in water tariffs, which went into effect on July 1. While the tariff hike generates an extra RM20 million annually for Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP), Lim contended that its impact on the 1.8 million Penang residents would be detrimental. PBAPP's pre-tax profit surged from RM23.1 million in Q1 2025 to RM49.6 million in the same period this year, surpassing the RM20 million additional annual revenue projected from the tariff increase. Therefore, deferring the water tariff increase for a year would enable PBAPP to manage it financially. Lim further suggested that if PBAPP urgently needs the RM20 million, the state government could seek federal funding or loans. He questioned the federal government's refusal to provide such assistance, alleging that Putrajaya had only returned RM7.9 billion of the RM10.7 billion contributed by Penang between 2023 and 2025.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — DAP’s Air Putih assemblyman Lim Guan Eng has urged the Penang government to emulate P...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Lim Guan Eng calls for Penang fee, quit rent and water tariff hikes to be deferred",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/lim-guan-eng-calls-for-penang-fee-quit-rent-and-water-tariff-hikes-to",
        "published": "2026-09-04T00:50:12.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Vibes",
        "title": "Guan Eng calls for action against Zahid for overspent allocations",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/guan-eng-calls-for-action-against-zahid-for-overspent-allocations",
        "published": "2026-09-04T01:55:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}