Fears that Georgetown was fast becoming a 'ghost town' due to the controversial repeal of the Rent Control Act may well come true after all.

At the Penang state assembly yesterday, Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon (photo) conceded that o­ne of the reasons why the population in Georgetown was decreasing over the past few years was due to the revocation of the 1948 (amended 1966) Rent Control Act - which set a ceiling o­n the rental rates of shophouses in the city.

This was the concerned raised by Save Ourselves coordinator o­ng Boon Keong, who persistently claimed since 2000 that Georgetown would soon become a 'ghost town' if the state repealed the Act.

Ong (left) had said that due to high rental rates - as they are now determined by market forces - people would leave in droves, and Georgetown, considered a cultural and heritage city, would be deserted.

SOS is a community non-governmental organisation set-up by residents affected by the repeal - who argued that the changes to the law o­nly benefitted landlords instead of tenants - some of whom have lived in Georgetown for generations.

The residents had mounted several protests and have even established their own print publications to report o­n news in Penang.

However, the state government went ahead and revoked the law o­n Jan 1, 2000.

Dilapidate houses

Speaking during the four-hour question-and-answer session, Koh said despite low rental rates, owners and landlords of the premises were not willing to spend their money o­n house repairs.

He said this led to a situation where old and cramped houses were deemed no longer fit to be lived in, especially by the younger generation.

"With better financial resources, they are prepared and can afford to buy homes and relocate to suburban areas," said Koh, when asked to report o­n the population statistics of Penang and the mainland by Kampung Kolan state assembly representative Lim Gim Soon.

"The repeal of the Rent Control Act has caused rental to escalate which will eventually pressure these residents to move out of their homes," he added.

The population for Georgetown has decreased by more than 30 percent within 30 years, from some 270,000 in 1970 to 180,000 in 2000.

On the other hand, the population in residential areas surrounding Georgetown such as Paya Terubong, Bayan Lepas and Bayan Baru had tripled from 94,000 in 1970 to nearly 290,000 in 2000.

Koh said the phenomenon was a sign of development occurring in many cities around the world.

However, he said the state government did not wish to see Georgetown's population continue to dwindle.