BATU SAPI MP MEETS COUNCIL PRESIDENT OVER MENARA MPS RENTAL HIKE..

Written by Admin

Tuesday January 21,2014

BY SHAIMON S JUMADI

SANDAKAN: Tenants of shoplots at Menara MPS in the heart of town can breathe a sigh of relief as Batu Sapi Member of Parliament Datuk Linda Tsen Thau Lin meet with Sandakan Municipal Council president Datuk James Wong on the Menara MPS rental issue.

A decision by Sandakan Municipal Council to raise the rental by 150 percent for premises on the ground floor of the commercial cum multi storey carpark effective 1 April 2014 , received strong criticism from the public and the tenants particularly coming at a time when business was slow.

With many claiming , the exhorbitant rent hike would force them either to close down or move their businesses to premises elsewhere. Some of the tenants have been occupying the shoplots since the commissioning of the building in 1992.

Batu Sapi Member of Parliament Datuk Linda Tsen met with Sandakan Municipal Council president Datuk James Wong at the latter's office in Wisma Perbandaran to discuss the issue following a public outcry.

“We will look into it and discuss to see how we can work on a win-win situation,” James said after the discussion with the Batu Sapi Member of Parliament on the matter.

A tenant Charles Lee Nyuk Fung when contacted said, the current rental rate is RM 2.80 per square feet and it will shoot up to RM 6.50 per square feet when the new rate comes into effect on 1 April 2014.

“The present tenancy contract runs until 31 March 2014  and if you are now paying a monthly rental of RM 1,000, you will have to pay RM 2,500 under the new contract following the rental hike,” Lee said.

He said there are 32 units of shoplots on the ground floor of Menara MPS.