IPOH - The Perak government, through the State Land and Mines Department (PTG), has set up a special committee and will initiate several measures to restore the status of state Malay reserve land, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said.
Saarani (BN-Kota Tampan) said among the initial steps taken by PTG was to impose restrictions by entering a Registrar's Caveat for all 3,214 hectares involved to prevent any transaction or transfer of ownership to non-Malays.
He said any transfer of ownership after this is only allowed for Malays so that Section 6 of the Malay Reservation Enactment can be enforced, which is to restore the status of the land as a Malay-owned Malay Reserve Land.
He said the state government through the PTG implemented a legalisation process by reviewing and reassessing the existing criteria for companies listed in the Third Schedule of the Malay Reserve Enactment for land ownership applications.
"These measures are the state government's continuous efforts to deal with this issue carefully and responsibly," he said during the state assembly sitting here today.
Saarani said this was done not only as improvements to the Auditor-General's report, but with the aim of protecting the interests of Malay Reserve Land 'as decreed by the Malay Rulers’ to ensure 50 per cent of acreage in Perak remains Malay Reserve Land.
He was responding to Muhammad Faisal Abdul Rahman (PN-Trong) who wanted to know how a company or organisation that does not set the condition that its ownership must comprise Malays only can be allowed by previous Menteris Besar to take over land with Malay reserve status in Perak.
Meanwhile, Saarani said in 2019, Malay Reserve land area in 2019 in Perak was at 950,326 hectares, 2020 (950,056 hectares), 2021 (953,042.67 hectares), 2022 (953,075 hectares) and 2023 (953,178.52 hectares). - BERNAMA