The Selangor government has brushed off allegations that it has imposed an increase of between RM60,000 and RM100,000 per annum for the Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) charge on caged fish breeders in Pulau Ketam, off Port Klang, near here.

State Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Agriculture Modernisation and Agro-based Industry Committee chairman, Zaidy Abdul Talib said the claims as reported in an English daily on June 23, which claimed that the fish breeders were being charged RM2 per sq ft annually for their farms, were baseless.

He said the actual amount of TOL charge as agreed by the state government on April 27 was 40 sen per sq metre per year, compared to the rate of RM4 per sq metre given by the Land Valuation and Property Services Department.

"The TOL charge for caged fish breeders in Selangor is the lowest compared to other states such as Penang at 45 sen per sq metre (a year), Perak (60 sen) and Johor (50 sen).

"The estimated maximum size of fish farms for each breeder in Pulau Ketam is 20,000 sq metres, while the minimum size is around 500 sq metres," he said in a statement, here, today.

According to Zaidy, the maximum TOL charge that had to be paid by a breeder operating the largest fish farm in Pulau Ketam (at 40 sen per sq metre) was only RM8,000 per annum.

However, with additional charges imposed by the Selangor Fisheries Department (SFD), the amount to be paid could come to RM9,070 a year, excluding foreign labour levy charged by the federal government, he said.

Zaidy said the charges imposed by the (SFD) would cover the Aquaculture System Licence (RM10 per year) and the Aquaculture System Boat Licence (a maximum of RM70 per boat, depending on the category).

"I will meet with the caged fish breeders in Pulau Ketam soon to explain the issue...I hope they will refer to the authorities first to get a clearer picture and to avoid misunderstanding," he said.

In the news report, the fish breeders claimed they had previously paid the TOL charge at RM282 per year.

-- BERNAMA