The government today warned that it has the right to confiscate land, including those gazetted as Malay reserve land, if such plots were left undeveloped for long periods of time.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government is concerned over neglected plots of land which should have been used for agricultural or industrial purposes.

"The National Land Code has provisions allowing for state governments to take over temporarily all neglected lands and appoint an appropriate agency to develop the land," said Abdullah (photo) during his keynote address at the National Land Convention in Kuala Lumpur.

Quoting Department of Agriculture statistics, he said some 12,180ha of land in peninsular Malaysia have been found to be neglected by their owners.

"This land could be developed to reduce the country's export of food products which cost RM13 billion last year. It could also be turned into estates for crops such as rubber," he added.

Abdullah said the law also allows the government to take action against those holding titles to Malay reserve lands if the plots are found to be neglected.

Embarrassing

"We do not want the Malay reserve lands to be seen as underdeveloped plots. It is a waste of the land, particularly in areas where land value is high. This would be embarrassing to us as well," he said.

Under the National Land Code 1965, state governments are allowed to forfeit land which are not used for purposes for which they have been gazetted.

Section 115 of the code states that land owners must commence cultivation of land categorised for agriculture within a 12-month period while Section 117 states that land categorised for industrial use must start operations within three years.

According to Land and Mines Department director-general, Yidris Abdullah, the government is currently studying various proposals to better utilise Malay reserve lands.

New policy

"The Malay Reserve Land Enactment may be amended to allow for leasehold use by non-Malays. As it is now, we have a 30 percent quota to be reserved for bumiputra. Perhaps, the new policy could allow for the 30 percent allocation to be leased out for a number of years," he told reporters during a press conference.

In addition, Yidris said another proposal being considered is for the state, with the permission of land owners, to take over neglected land for development, and in turn, pay owners in kind.

"If it is a housing project, the government may decide to allow a 7:3 ratio whereby 30% of proceeds would belong to the land owner and 70% to the developer," he said.

Yidris said a committee headed by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Rais Yatim is studying the proposals and expect it to complete by month end.

Pilot scheme

Last Sunday, Rais said the amendments will include a pilot scheme for owners of reserve land in Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur to use their land as collateral for shares and capital.

Yidris said the government is also formulating a National Land Policy to streamline land administration procedures currently used by the different states.

"This year, we will get ideas and start formulating strategies for the policy. We have also to think about other national policies with regard to agriculture, environment and so on. This land policy will incorporate all these national development policies," he said.

He estimated that the project to formulate the national land policy will take at least a year.

Yidris said the policy is intended to overcome discrepancies among various state land policies which could affect national development.