THE Penang government has approved the transfer of ownership of No. 50 Love Lane, a heritage shophouse in George Town, ending a political standoff between the DAP-led administration and the Penang Chinese Clans Council (PCCC) which sparked last year.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the property would be transferred to the clans’ association at a nominal rate of RM10.

The association, he said, would also have to follow certain conditions that come with the property transfer.

Among the conditions is the property cannot be transferred, mortgaged, or entered into any business transaction, unless with the approval of the state authorities.

“The association must rehabilitate the building in five years, according to heritage preservation guidelines.

“The property must be used only as a museum and interpretation centre on the early settlement of Chinese people in Penang,” Chow said at a press conference today.

Apart from the RM10 nominal fee, PCCC will also pay RM23,132.56 to the state as tax arrears accumulated since 2014, the year the state seized the freehold property.

The Love Lane pre-war property, which previously belonged to the Eng Siew Kee Kongsi and was managed by a five-member board of trustees since 1909, was seized by the state due to non-payment of quit rent arrears.

It was said there was an earlier understanding between the state and PCCC that the former would transfer the property, which was believed to be connected to the historic Ghee Hin Chinese society, to the latter at a nominal fee of RM1.

Then-PCCC chairman Anthony Chang had said the last trustee had urged the council to take over and restore the heritage building in 2010 before he died.

However, the authorities told PCCC to prove it had a direct connection to the property, and the arrangement hit a snag when the council could not furnish proof.

The bad blood over the property tussle was said to have spilled over to the PCCC annual Chinese New Year cultural celebration in George Town earlier this year.

PCCC cancelled the event, citing lack of cooperation and support from the state government, before eventually making a U-turn. – June 13, 2018.