Lau Chuen Yau, 85, was hoping that her husband would still be around to celebrate this Chinese New Year. Unlike previous years, the Lau family is celebrating a special gift from the state government that has been 60 years in the making.

“My husband passed away 10 years ago. Getting a leasehold title for our home was his dream and we are happy that we have finally received the land title for our home,” said the mother of four.

Lau was beaming with joy as she shared her happiness about finally getting the 99-year leasehold land title, after years of applications.

“I was married at the age of 18 and had been staying here with my late husband for more than 60 years. Now I am staying with one of my sons and we never moved out from this village,” she said.

According to the octogenarian, the family had applied for the land title decades ago but they never got even close to getting it approved.

“It (the wait) was so long,” she said, adding that she tried her luck again after the change of state government during the 14th General Election in May 2018.

“Thanks to the MB (Menteri Besar) and the new state government, my leasehold application was finally approved, and we received the land title from the Menteri Besar himself recently.

“Words cannot describe how relieved we are. I wish my husband was here to receive the land title, but I know that he can finally rest in peace now that we finally received the leasehold land title for our home.

“This is the best Chinese New Year gift for me and my children, we are very happy,” she said.

Lau was one of the 32 villagers from RPT (Rancangan Perkampungan Tersusun) Papan who received their 99-year land title lease from Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu in Batu Gajah recently.

They are among the 125 families in the village who had applied for land title. Of the total, 32 land titles were approved while another 49 villagers received the 5A Form, a temporary land title document pending the completion of the application process. The rest of the applications are still being processed as the applicants are required to submit relevant documents.

The land title means the world to the villagers here as for decades, they had been living in fear for fearing of being asked to vacate the land.

“Without the land title, we were always worried the house will be demolished to make way for other purposes. We are worried because we don’t have anywhere to go,” said 60-year-old Fan Chee Kong who was born at the village.

Fan said his late father applied for the land title over three decades ago and his father passed away last year without having a chance to catch a glimpse at the land title document.

“My father had applied the land since more than 30 years ago and the previous state government kept on telling us that we were getting the approval, but nothing was ever fulfilled.

“Luckily after the change of state government, we got the land title. It is a sheer happiness for us. We are very grateful to get the land title before Chinese New Year. Thank you to state government. Thank you to Menteri Besar for helping us,” he said, brimming with joy.

His joy was shared by another villager, 77-year-old Yeap Kong Meng, who had been dreaming of renovating the house which he inherited from his late mother.

“I have been living here for more than 60 years and I started applying for the land tittle more than 10 years ago but failed after many attempts.

“I then sought the help from our local assemblyman and we are grateful that the Menteri Besar had approved our application. I am very happy and thank them for their hard work,” he said.

Yeap said he had been longing to renovate the house as it was already old but did not dare to do so pending the approval of the land title.

“This land title is a very special gift for Chinese New Year, it means the life to us and I am very happy now that I finally get to start the renovation works,” said Yeap, who is living with his wife.

His neighbour, Seng Sang Choi, 72, who had lived here for five decades said he was grateful that the Pakatan Harapan state government had fulfilled their dream.

“The number of elders here is dwindling and at times they seemed like giving up hope for the land title. Most of the youngsters here have migrated elsewhere to secure jobs.

“Our homes are getting older and began falling apart but without the land title, we could not carry out the renovation works.

“We are very happy now that we finally got the land title. Now I can pass down the house to my sons, it is up to them if they wish to rebuild it in future. Thank you to the Menteri Besar and Jelapang assemblyman for this special gift for Chinese New Year and our life,” he said.

Since coming into power, the Pakatan Harapan state government under the leadership of the Menteri Besar had been focusing on efforts to resolve tens of thousands of backlogged land title applications, with cold files traced back to decades ago, like those involving villagers in RPT Papan.

Last year, the state government had approved 9,000 land titles for FELDA settlers, over 55,000 RPT (Rancangan Perkampungan Tersusun) applications and 13,000 applications by Kampung Baru residents. The state government aims to approve another 16,000 applications for this year, to ensure an equitable solution for both Perakians and the state when it comes to land matters.

Check out a video on the story of RPT Papan villagers on Perak Menteri Besar official social media accounts, Faizal Azumu today.