Glory days of Komtar over?

GEORGE TOWN (August 13): Privately-owned lots, 271 of them, lay vacant in Komtar.

Penang Develop­ment Corporation (PDC) offered to buy back these units offering lower prices than owners had paid for them in the 80s. 

Predictably, only a few owners took them up on the offer. 

One owner told The Star that PDC offered some of them RM220 per square foot.

“We bought our lot at RM230 per sq ft (psf) and were stunned by the offer. But after some thought, we accepted.

“And for years no one would rent it from us.

“My business partners and I are in our 70s now. Back when Komtar was the top shopping mall in Penang, we did so well.

“I think the glory days of Komtar are over. Most shopping malls go through this kind of life cycle.

“If we didn’t accept the offer, the outstanding service charge would have been high enough for PDC to claim our property without payment,” he said to the daily.

Some owners are still holding out for a more equitable price. One above what a real estate valuer is quoted as describing as “peanuts”. 

“How can you offer something that is below the 1980s price? That is too unfair, especially for a state government agency.

“Units on the ground floor, and facing Penang Road, should be worth over RM400 psf now,” he said to The Star.

Komtar assemblyman and Penang Chief Minister’s political secretary Teh Lai Heng said there were plans to rent out privately and PDC-owned lots to anchor tenants.

“If there is a group of people or a company interested, we can rent out the units.

“However, right now some are owned by PDC and some privately owned,” said Teh.

“The units are also scattered, making it difficult to rent out to an anchor tenant.

“We urge all private owners to consider renting out their units with PDC.

“We also welcome businesses which are interested in becoming anchor tenants to participate in the concept,” he said to the daily.

When asked if a real estate investment trust (REIT) arrangement would be set in place, Teh noted that private owners should show interest in renting out their units before that would be deemed possible.

PDC Urus Setia chief executive officer Datuk Ang Choo Hong said: “We were able to identify all the owners.

“We got in touch with them when they came to pay the service charges.

“We indicated to the owners our interest to rent out their units to anchor businesses, but most of them have not responded,” he said.

Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar), was completed in 1986, and the 65-storey building was the tallest skyscraper in Malaysia at the time.