Selangor to announce policy on land ownership by year-end

By Yip Yoke Teng
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/11/30/central/7523252&sec=central

THE Selangor government has been researching on the legal and historical aspects of land titles in Petaling Jaya and will announce a policy statement by the end of the year.

Bukit Gasing assemblyman Edward Lee urged residents in Petaling Jaya to give the state a little more time to deal with the city’s land ownership matters. In other words, they should wait for the answer before applying for lease extension and paying the land premium that had doubled compared to four years ago.

“The state is aware of the anxiety and fears of the local population with regard to the impending expiry of land leases.

“We have been conducting an in-depth study into the legal and historical aspects in dealing with this issue, as well as its impact on the state. It is not confined to PJ Old Town, but also other areas in the city where they qualify,” he said.

Lee was commenting on StarMetro’s cover story yesterday on the drastic increase and discrepancies in premium that residents in Petaling Jaya Old Town had to pay to renew their leasehold titles expiring in three to 15 years.

He said he and other elected representatives, including Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and deputy speaker Haniza Talha, had on previous occasions stated that the state would issue a policy statement on land ownership in Petaling Jaya by the end of this year.

“It is therefore desirable that residents wait for the decision of the state and not politicise the issue in the mean time.

Section 4 Rukun Tetangga chairman Dr K. Muthukumarasamy said the community hoped the state and federal governments could look into the matter with the evidence presented.

“Documents we discovered suggest that there might have been an oversight. Residents in PJ Old Town, which could have been privately-owned, should have freehold titles. We are not fighting with the government, we just hope they will investigate,” she said.

Petaling Jaya City councillor Derek Fernandez said that it was high time that the state government reduced the lease renewal rate.

“The issue is serious as property values have skyrocketed, making it very hard to renew leases as per formula based on the market value especially for residents in PJ Old Town who may have difficulty securing bank loan due to their age.

“It would have a tremendous impact if the state would consider announcing a reduction in the lease renewal rate from the current 0.25 market value of land to 0.125 as a recognition of the contribution of Selangor citizens who helped build the state.

He commented that the formula based on market value actually discriminated against responsible citizens who kept their properties in good condition, as they would have to pay a higher premium due to the properties’ better market value.