There should be adequate safeguards in place to ensure that the rights of Malays are protected if amendments to land laws allowing Malay reserve lands to be developed by non-Malays are allowed, a Malay interests non-governmental organisation said today.

Teras president Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid said that the safeguards were necessary to ensure that the lands were developed in the interests of Malays and would remain in their hands.

"Even if such development (of Malay reserve lands) is being conducted by Malays together with non-Malays, there should be a body that ensures that such works are not digressing from the original aims of the reserve land," said Azmi said when contacted yesterday.

He was commenting on Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak's announcement last Thursday that Malay reserve land would be allowed to be transferred to non-Malays on a 60-year lease when amendments to the land laws are passed next month.

Azmi called for an overseeing body that would ensure transparency in the process of leasing Malay reserve lands to non-Malays so that 'irregularities' would not occur.

"Approval of such leases should be made by the respective state executive councils and not the state land department so that there is transparency," he said.

Azmi suggested that another mechanism by which Malays' interests could be protected in relation to reserve lands was to ensure that the leases on them were strictly not renewable.

Conditions unknown

The proposed amendment announced by Najib is among several proposals that will be tabled in Parliament in September as part of a general overhaul of land laws.

According to Azmi, however, the government should not rush into tabling such an amendment without first disclosing to the people the reasons behind the need to open up ownership of Malay reserve lands to non-Malays.

"The government has to disclose the rationale behind the proposal to amend land laws before any such amendments are made," he said.

The government had to be honest if state agencies such as the Urban Development Authority (now UDA Holdings Bhd) - which were created to develop land belonging to the Malays - have failed to deliver, he added.

"A lot of agencies, particularly UDA, were set up with the purpose of developing land belonging to the Malays. Our concern is that these agencies are not functioning."

According to Azmi, the total amount of Malay reserve land had decreased from 4.5 million hectares in 1995 to little more than the present two million hectares and there has yet to be a full disclosure on their present condition.

"What is the status of these lands? Have they been developed or not? We have sent numerous letters and memorandums together with proposals to the relevant authorities but we have received no response so far," revealed Azmi.

Land laws, some dating back to the 19th century colonial Malaya, guard Malay reserve lands as land 'reserved for alienation to Malays or to the natives of the state in which it lies.'

Despite exceptions such as in Kelantan and Kedah that provide for leasing to non-Malays for a maximum period of three years, stringent legal restrictions and prohibitions disqualify in some cases even Malays from owning Malay reserve land in a state from which he does not originate from.

'An embarrassment'

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad was reported in Malay-language daily Utusan Melayu to have chastised the Malays for their overemphasis on the status of Malay reserve lands.

" Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) does not lie in land reserves but in our ability and strength to compete with other races," said Mahathir.

"Reserve lands are an embarrassment because they reflect our weakness, inability to compete, and need for protective measures," he said in a talk at the Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana Complex on Monday.