GEORGE TOWN: The Penang state government has gazetted amendments to town boundaries and established 25 new towns under the National Land Code.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the move was published in the state gazette on Sept 4.
"The decision expands the boundaries of 10 existing towns and establishes 25 new ones. It involves more than 210,000 land titles and 184,000 strata titles across the state," Chow said at a press conference on Wednesday (Sept 17).
He said the exercise is necessary to keep land classification in line with Penang’s rapid growth.
"Areas like Bayan Baru, Bukit Jambul, Seberang Jaya and Bandar Cassia, still classed as village land since 1966, have long taken on an urban character.
PLANMalaysia defines a town as a gazetted and built-up area with at least 10,000 people, or a district where most residents work outside agriculture.
Criteria include population size, geography, built-up areas and economic potential."
Chow said the amendments will improve administrative efficiency and land revenue collection.
“This will create a fairer taxation system for landowners, as the last gazetting was nearly 60 years ago,” he added.
