GEORGE TOWN: The state should not find it complicated to decide what to do with the historical house, 50, Love Lane, which it declared as forfeited, said Gerakan deputy secretary-general Dr Thor Teong Gee.
“The state government’s role is to facilitate and not to confiscate. It is unfair.
“The question is straightforward. How much do you want to charge the Chinese community (for the property)? RM1? Market price? Or give it for free?” Dr Thor asked in a press conference at state Gerakan headquarters in Macalister Road yesterday.
He said the issue was whether the state government would sell off 50, Love Lane, as was the expected action after seizing a property that had a large amount of unpaid property charges.
The property is historically connected to the Ghee Hin secret society, the largest grouping of Chinese immigrants in the 1800s who played a major role in building Penang’s economy.
After all the trustees died, the unpaid quit rent and assessments caused the state to forfeit it in 2013.
Dr Thor hoped the state could answer whether the state had acquired the land, whether the original owners had the right to appeal to ‘reclaim’ the property within six months from the date of acquisition, whether the duration of appeal had expired and whether the state had already engaged a surveyor.
Gerakan state legal bureau chief Datuk Baljit Singh suggested that the clan appoint new trustees, write an official letter to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and obtain his signature of approval for the house to be handed to the trustees.
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