Malay rights groups eye govt land in KL

Change will protect multi-racial image of capital, they say.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malay rights groups, lamenting a racial gap in land ownership, want the titles of all undeveloped government-owned land in the city to be changed to Malay reserve land.

However, this would not amount to a land grab, but would protect KL’s status as federal capital of a multi-racial society.

Former Malaysia Airlines chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman said the change of the land status must be implemented to safeguard the rights of each race.

“We do not want to touch on the land that had been developed, we are not trying to seize any property, we just want the status of undeveloped government-owned land to be changed to Malay reserve land and that’s it,” he added.

Tan Sri Aziz, a supreme council member of Pertubuhan Pemikir Agenda Watan Malaysia (Pemikir), is also chairman of the constitution bureau of the Malay Consultative Council (MPM).

He said “Many developments are taking place in the city and we found that there is an imbalance in terms of racial composition of the city dwellers. If left unaddressed, it will become a threat to peace.”

MPM secretary-general Datuk Dr Hasan Mad said development of Kuala Lumpur must reflect the composition of this multi-racial society. He said bumiputera property ownership in the capital had deteriorated over the years.

“Today, there exists a disparity between the races. If this trend continues, Kuala Lumpur will not reflect (its status as) the federal capital of Malaysia,” he said.

However, MPM had yet to receive any definite answer about the size of land categorised as Malay reserve land in Kuala Lumpur. “In October, we asked the city mayor, but he was not so sure about the statistics,” he said.

– BERNAMA