Sarawak to refund RM24.5m in excess land renewal premiums

KUCHING: The state government will refund RM24.56 million in excess land renewal premiums through the Sarawak Land and Survey Department to residential and agriculture land and shophouse lease applicants.

State Planning and Resource Management Second Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said on Tuesday, Aug 23since the announcement of the new policy on renewal of leases effective June 1, 2010, the government had refunded about RM1.93 million involving 651 residential applications.

Awang Tengah who is also Minister of Public Utilities, said at Wisma Sumber Alam today that priority would be given to residential land first, then followed by agriculture land and shophouses.

The new premiums for a 60-year lease on residential units is RM1,000 for terrace houses, RM3,000 for semi-detached and RM6,000 for bungalows.

A 60-year lease for an acre of agriculture land costs RM5,000 in the city, RM2,500 in the outskirts and RM200 for rural areas.

Shophouses pay between RM10,000 and RM40,000 per unit for a 60-year lease, depending on the location. - Bernama