DD EEVV EELL OO PP MMEENN TT OO FF - Instituterehdainstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2-.Prof... · 2018-06-19 · DD EEVV EELL OO PP MMEENN TT OO FF MMAA LL AA YY RR EESS EERR

Miland Educational Centre

DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTT OOFF

MMAALLAAYY RREESSEERRVVEE LLAANNDD

PRESENTED BY: PROF. DATUK DR. NIK MOHD ZAIN BIN NIK YUSOF


2. RESOLUTIONS * Numerous conferences and seminars held

which formulated resolutions to address issues of MRL.

* Action taken on the resolutions still

questionable. * Objective of paper is to look back at some

of the resolutions and issues raised.


1. INTRODUCTION * During British Colonial days there was

rapid disposal of land by the Malays. * Restrictions were necessary to control

disposal. * British introduced the Malay Reservation

Enactments which was first enacted in 1913.

* Malay Reserve Land refers to special

Category of land which can be owned and held by the Malays.


3. ISSUES Major issues on MRL are * Legal Rights of MRL * Development of MRL 3.1. Issues On Legal Rights * The Federal Constitution * The State MRL Enactments


3.1.1. Federal Constitution * Article 89 (1) Land declared as MRL before Merdeka

Day will continue to be subjected to the enacted Enactments.

* Article 89 (2) A new MRL area can be declared

provided that an equal area is made available for general alienation.


* Article 89 (3)(b) On request of landowner, land can

be declared as Malay Reservation. * Artile 89 (3)(C) New MRL can also be declared to

replace land that ceases to be Malay Reservation provided the new area is similar in character to the new area.


* Article 89 (b) Definition of ‘Malay’, and ‘Malay Reservation’. 3.1.1.1. Effect Of Constitution On MRL * Article 89 does not create an

issue but in fact it strengthens the position of Malay Reservation.

* Under the Constitution, the

Federal Government has power of interference through the National Land Council


3.1.2. THE STATE MALAY RESERVATION ENACTMENTS * In the respective States, Malay reservation is

governed by the following laws: Johore Malay Reservations Enactment No.1/1936; Kedah Malay Reservations Enactment No.63; Kelantan Malay Reservations Enactment No. 18/ 1931; for Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and Selangor, the law is the Malay Reservations Enactment (F.M.S. Cap. 142) and before 15.12.1935, the law was the Malay Reservations Enactment 1913; Perlis Malay Reservations Enactment No.7/1353; and Trengganu Malay Reservations Enactment No. 17/1360.


3.1.2.1. THE MALAY RESERVATION ENACTMENTS (F.M.S. (AP.142) * The Malay Reservations Enactment

(F.M.S. Cap. 142) covers the Federated Malay States of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang.

* Under Section 2 of the Enactment,

'Malay' is defined as a person belonging to any Malayan Race which habitually speaks the Malay language or any Malayan language and professes the Moslem religion.


* Under the Enactment, only Malay holding as stated in section 2 of the Enactment is subject to the restrictions.

* Alienated land within a Malay reservation

held wholly by a non-Malay as proprietor is not a Malay holding and as such the restrictions imposed on a Malay holding do not apply to such land.


* Section 7 of the Enactment states that no State Land included within a Malay reservation shall be sold, leased or otherwise disposed of to any person not being Malay. This means that such State land cannot be alienated, granted a license or permit or leased for mining to a Non-Malay.

* Under the proviso to section 7 of the Enactment,

alienation can be made to persons or bodies in the Third Schedule of the Enactment and the State land alienated to them is regarded as Malay holding and is thus governed by the restrictions imposed by the Enactment.


* Section 8 of the Enactment also prohibits charging of any Malay holdings to Non-Malays. However, under section 17 of the Enactment, the proprietor of any Malay holding can charge such holding to the Menteri Besar. Under the same section, the proprietor of any Malay holding can also charge such holding to any person specified in the Second Schedule to the Enactment.


* The Malay Reservations Enactment (F.M.S. Cap. 142) does not provide for reservation of land on application by the proprietor (only the Johore Malay Reservations Enactment contains such provision). As such in Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and Selangor, no land can be declared as a Malay reservation upon the application by the proprietor as provided in Article 89(3)(b) of the Federal Constitution.


3.1.2.2. EFFECT OF THE STATE MRL ENACTMENTS * Like the constitution, the

enactments do not create a major issue that impedes development.


3.2. ISSUES ON DEVELOPMENT OF MRL Issues raise that can offect development of

MRL are, * land size * location * socio-economic status of the Malays * shrinking land area


4. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MRL By overcoming the bariers on MRL, we can

create Opportunities for the Malaysia. Multiple forms of developments such as housing, industrial, commercial and even industrial can be brought on to the MRL we need to find ways of remosing barriers to the development of MRL.


4.1. PHYSICAL CONDITION OF THE MRL * Irregular and uneconomic land sizes can hinder the

development of MRL. Apart from size, the poor physical condition of the land for example undulating land, hilly land, land with hill slopes, marshy land and barren as well as unfertile land can also affect development. The barrier can be overcomed by applying the concept of land readjustment

* The Land Readjustment programme, if it can be

successfully implemented, provides the government with a means of managing and financing the unified subdivision of separate private Malay Reserve landholdings for planned development. It can be a potentially important technique for improving urban, rural and agricultural MRL development in the country. The Government can also use the Land Readjustment concept to enhance the country’s agricultural output in accordance with the National Agricultural Policy 3.


4.2. AGRICULTURAL MALAY RESERVE LAND * Under the socio-economic status of the

Malays, the Malays lack funds for development. Apart from this, they also lack in the know-how of carrying out the developments.


4.3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS * Under the socio-economic status of the Malays, the

Malays lack funds for development. Apart from this, they also lack in the know-how of carrying out the developments.

* Ministries; Government departments; Governments

agencies such as UDA, MARA, the Regional Development Authorities; and Government companies has to play a major role in the development of the MRL.

* The agencies should also have strategies on how to

reduce development costs such as paying nominal fees for conversions, remission of quit rent arrears for MRL identified for development, nominal increase in premium for conversion and any other ways of

reducing costs.


4.4. MALAY RESERVE LAND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (MRLDC) * The resolutions discussed as the numerous

seminars will not reach the drafting board and to be followed by its implementation as there is no one organization which is the coordinator for the MRL development programme.

* The Government should set up a MRLDC who

will be the coordinator for MRL developments. The council will have the force to command manpower, expertise and funds to develop MRL. The council can make use of the National Land Council for implementing policies and standard programmes throughout the states having MRL.


4.5. LEASING OF MRL * There have been suggestions that the land should be

leased to the Non-Malays for an economic lease period of 30 years and after the lease expires the property will be reverted to the Malay landowner. The advantage of this method is that funds is being injected by the private sector and at the end of the lease the landowner obtains the developed property from the lessee. This is not in line with the National Economic Policy whereby the Malays should be participating in business.

* Developments over MRL due to its restricted market

has a lower open market value as compared to the unrestricted properties in the market. This will help to depress the rental value of the property on MRL and will make it affordable for the Malay businessman to conduct his business.


4.5. REPLACEMENT OF MRL

* The MRL that has been revoked has to be replaced. At the same time, in land acquisitions, the MRL which has not been cancelled has to done so. Reduction in size of the total area of MRL can affect the overall development of MRL and can affect the economic status of the Malays.

* The provisions under the enactments

and the constitution requires land of similar character be replaced. It will be an uphill tasks looking for land of similar character. The way around is to use the open market value of the land.


5. CONCLUSION We cannot deny the good intentions of the authors of

the law which essentially was aimed at bringing about an economic upliftment of the rural Malay peasantry who constitute the greater majority of the owners of such lands. Regrettably, with the wisdom of hindsight, such good intentions appeared to be still-born due to the absence of any concrete follow up and enforcement measures. These lack of follow-up actions and enforcement measures on the resolutions made in numerous seminars, conferences and discussion sessions have to be looked at whereby development should be brought onto the Malay Reserve Land. We have to put our foot down, shove our weight or flex our muscle to make sure that what that have been suggested are implemented.

Documents

DD EEVV EELL OO PP MMEENN TT OO FF - Instituterehdainstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2-.Prof... · 2018-06-19 · DD EEVV EELL OO PP MMEENN TT OO FF MMAA LL AA YY RR EESS EERR