ON
FRIDAY
DEC 6, 2013
All the existing land lot numbers shown in
the survey plan of Petaling Estate had to be
combined to formone big PJ township.
Individual plots of landwhich the pioneers of
PJ bought, had to be sub-divided and given
new lot numbers. The plots of land under the
newly gazetted townwould then have to be
re-drawn and re-divided.
The task of assigning lot numbers and
surveying individual parcels of landwas to be
done by the Director of Survey. Only after the
completion of this exercise, could final titles
be issued.
>Discussing theon-goingdebates anddisputes
“The actual development and sale of
houses to the pioneer residents of PJ
happened faster than the British government
couldmanage. The Kuala Lumpur district
officer of that time admitted that it was a
formidable task to survey Petaling Jaya.
Surveys were done for some areas, but with
such a short time to go before the country
would achieve independence, the British-
controlled government could not complete
the land survey before the independent
Malayan government took over,” addedMak.
Mak describes the period after
independence, until the time leasehold titles
were given out, as unclear. Nevertheless, one
thing was obvious, not all surveys for the new
township had been done. Therefore, not all
the final freehold land titles were issued to
the pioneer PJ residents as they should
have been.
“In order for the State Government to
rightfully issue leasehold titles, it would have
had to own the land before leasing it to
buyers. Did the State Government buy the
land from the pioneer residents of Petaling
Jaya in order tomake it State land? If so,
does the State Government have any
documentation to show this? If the State
never bought the land, howdid the land
title change from freehold to leasehold?”
asks a homeowner who only wants to be
known as Izran.
THE PEOPLE QUESTION
Fifty eaight-year old Arun Sellapan
owns a home in Section 2 in PJ. Expressing
disappointment over the lack of action on the
issue, he questions how long he and other
leasehold homeowners have to carry on
paying the premiums to renew their lease.
“We’ve paid somuch but in the end it’s still a
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The highlight at this year’s expo, other
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leasehold property that we’re staying in.”
“If PJ landwas originally freehold, then
why shouldwe extend our leases? How
can freehold land be converted to
leasehold?We are holding out until the
last minute, waiting for the State
Government to correct this issue or at
least give us an explanation,” he laments.
Alan Yee fromPJ Section 4 has a string
of questions he’d like answer to. “If the
whole of PJ was under the Petaling
Estate, where is the logic in onlymaking
certain parts of PJ freehold and the
others leasehold?”
He also echoes the sentiments of his
neighbours who feel that the leasehold
concept is just an old British system that
isn’t relevant today. “We still followwhat
the British put in place but even Britain
has gone on to review their leasehold
system,” he says, referring to the
Leasehold ReformAct (1967).
PROBABLE SOLUTION
Since all this happened a long time ago,
under a different government and
regulation, Mak says that from a legal
perspective, existing laws which lean
towards using the “old” law (the Land
Code Cap 138), should be used to rectify
the situation.
In Section 56 of the Selangor Land
Rules, it is stated that for any land that has
been approved for alienation under a
previous land law, but has in fact, not been
alienated, the Registrar may prepare and
register the document of title under the
previous land law.
“This basicallymeans that any land
transaction that took place before 1965
should continue to use the previous land
law and have the land titles issued under
the previous law. This establishes the fact
that landmatters governing Petaling Jaya
should abide by the previous land law of
Cap 138,” saysMak.
“What these homeowners have been
fighting for is for freehold land titles. The
right thing to do would be for the State
Government to complete the surveys
started by the British and issue freehold
titles accordingly.
“Estate land under the British
government was freehold. Once land is
freehold, it should remain freehold,”
saysMak.
*The Land Office of Selangor State, District of
Petaling has been addressed for comment. At the
time of print we had yet to receive a response.
Leasehold?
Freehold?
WHILE
one group of homeowners are blasé
and ready to drop the long-standing and
“chronic” issue of leasehold land titles,
another group steadfastly fight for what they
say is rightfully theirs - freehold land titles.
Mak KhuinWeng, former Petaling Jaya
(PJ) councillor and long time advocate of
freehold land for PJ, is part of the group
that questions the validity of leasehold
titles. He, along with thousands of other
PJ homeowners, assert that due to a course
of exclusions andmistakes, several parts of
PJ were wrongly re-designated from
freehold to leasehold. They insist they have
enough factual evidence to prove their
claim, yet remain in the lurch after many
a time trying to get clear answers from the
State Government.
HISTORY OF PJ
History indicates that Petaling Jaya was
previously private land under the ownership
of Petaling Estate. This was during the
British rule. This private landwas then sold
off to the pioneer residents of PJ in 1953.
In 1955, the PJ area was gazetted as a town
under Section 6 of the Land Code, Cap 138.
This Cap 138 was THE law for landmatters,
up until the National Land Code was enacted.
THE PROBLEM
Mak explains that under the rules in
Cap 138, when an area is declared a town
(such as Petaling Estate), the land titles must
be amalgamated and sub-divided according
to the town plan.
X
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controversy
The
behind
land titles
PetalingJaya
DID YOU KNOW?
* When the lease on a leasehold
property expires, the ownership is
reverted back to the State Government.
*Should the homeowner decide to
“renew” the lease on the property
which lease has expired, he or she
would need to put in an application for
Land Re-alienation.
*Although this may sound indefinite and
a tedious task, experts say this is a
simple and common process practiced
here, and very rare for a renewal not to
be approved.
*For leasehold property where the term
has not expired but nearing expiry, the
homeowner can apply for an
“extension” of the lease.
STEP BY STEP PROCESS FOR
LAND RE-ALIENATION
1. The applicant needs to submit
the Land Re-alienation form
(Permohonan Pemberimilikan Tanah)
to the State Land Office.
2. The land will then be checked by a
settlement officer, who will submit a
report to EXCO for approval.
3. The land will then have to go
through a re-alienation process by
the land administrator.
4. When the re-alienation is approved,
the land office will issue a Notice that
Land Revenue is Due (Form 5A).
5. The owner will then need to pay a
premium and wait for the Land
Office to inform the applicant when
he or she can collect the Land Title.
Note: The process of Land Re-alienation
could take up to a year.
* Information obtained from Christopher
Chan of Hartamas Real Estate (Malaysia).
INSIGHTS
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