Penang govt ready to transfer Love Lane property with conditions

GEORGE TOWN: The stand-off between the DAP-led state administration and the Penang Chinese Clan Council (PCCC) over a piece of property in Love Lane have finally come to an ends after the state government approved the transfer of ownership to the PCCC.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the property at No. 50 Love Lane would be transferred to the PCCC at a nominal rate of RM10.
He said apart from the nominal fee the PCCC will also have to pay RM23,132.56 to the state as tax arrears accumulated since the property was confiscated by the state government in 2014.
He also said that the PCCC would have to follow certain conditions set by the state government over the transfer.
Among the conditions is that the property must be used only as a museum and as a interpretation centre on the early settlement of the Chinese community in Penang.
It also stated that the property cannot be transferred, mortgaged, or involved in any business transaction, unless approved by the local authorities.
"The PCCC will also have to upgrade and rehabilitate the property in five years according to the heritage preservation guideline set by the state government," he said in a press conference at Komtar today.
50 Love Lane, linked to the Ghee Hin secret society, formerly belonged to the Eng Siew Kee Kongsi. A five-member board of trustees was entrusted to manage the property back in 1909.
The PCCC was approached by the trustees to take over management of the building, a dilapidated heritage property located at the corner of Love Lane and Muntri Street, back in 2010.
Last year, Lim had revealed that plans in 2015 to transfer the property to PCCC hit a snag because it was found that the PCCC did not own the temple.
The building had been forfeited by the state government in 2014 as the building owner failed to pay its assessment fees.