by Ganesh Sahathevan
P.Gunasegaram writing in Malaysiakini reported:
One proposal announced by no less than Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi went relatively unnoticed at the recently concluded Bumiputera Economic Congress (BEC), where a slew of proposals for helping well-off bumiputera was unveiled.
According to Zahid, who is also the rural and regional development minister, the government plans to set up a Bumiputera Land Corporation (Perbadanan Tanah Bumiputera) to preserve land ownership, as part of an effort to strengthen the community by boosting its land ownership.
According to a report quoting Zahid, if the lease size exceeds 50 acres (20.23ha) for agricultural land or 20 acres for industrial use, the proposal calls for 20 percent of the land to be handed back to the government upon lease renewal or extension.
The proposal is indeed insidious and the numbers involved, mind numbing. Taking but one small example, properties in Section 11, Petaling Jaya iare understood to be leasehold with tenure of 60 to 90 years. The leases are understood to have been granted in the 1960s, so may be near or have already expired.
This is residential land, but redesignation to industrial, commercial or agricultural land can in Malaysia be a matter of mere formality. In fact, it is understood that some or all residential properties in Section 14, which is just 5 minutes drive away, have already been re-designated as commercial or industrial.
The proposed Bumiputera Land Corporation (Perbadanan Tanah Bumiputera) would be negligent in its duties if it did not seek control of all that land. It should be worth very, very , very many billions.
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