Kedah Gerakan Youth has produced three letters supporting their claim that the Kedah government is enforcing a 70 percent bumiputera quota on housing development in the state and a requirement to convert the bumiputera lots into Malay reserve land.

penang kedah timber logging azizan abdul razak 310708 03 Its youth chief Tan Keng Liang expressed disappointment that Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak ( right ) had denied the allegations in a Star report today by maintaining that the state had no policy to increase the bumiputera quota from 50 percent to 70.

Star today also reported Kedah housing and local government committee chairperson Phahrolrazi Mohd Zawawi calling on Tan to produce proof of his allegations.

Tan today circulated as proof, three Land and Mining office letters issued between June and August informing applicants for land conversion from agriculture to housing development and development or sale of housing units stipulating the alleged requirements.

The three letters had all requested that 70 percent of the housing development in their applications had to be reserved for Malays and that these lots shall then be gazetted as “Malay reserve land”.

The letters stipulated these as conditional to the approval of the applications, “pursuant to the state exco meeting dated May 26, 2010 (paper 6C.10./2010).”

NONE “The three letters clearly showed that the above was approved by exco on May 26, 2010. It is surprising how the menteri besar of Kedah is not aware of the decision by the exco of Kedah,” said Tan ( left ) in a statement today.

On Oct 13 Gerakan sent the MB a memorandum asking for Article 89 of the federal constitution to be respected, and calling on him to “pledge to stop the increase of the bumiputera quota for housing development”

“This pledge was made in December, 2009 and was publicised to all Kedahans via the media,” said Tan in an earlier statement.

Reneging on promises

Tan had lamented last week that the state government, in requiring the quotas for approval of housing development projects, “may be an attempt to increase Malay reserve land in Kedah,” adding that it was unconstitutional.

pkr flag alor star 010308 “Worse still, there had been requirements of up to 70 percent bumiputera quota for housing developments involving swapped Malay reserve land.

“There is no reduction of Malay reserve land under the swapping process as an equivalent size of land (plus 5 percent additional area) would be entered into Malay reserve land and the land intended for development would be removed from Malay reservation,” he added.

Tan further lamented that the Kedah government had failed to honour their promise made in December last year to reduce the bumiputera quota for housing from 50 to 30 percent for development of swapped Malay reserve land.

NONE He added that this in particular affected land around Alor Star, that comprises over 90 percent Malay reserve land.

The youth chief said that the further increase to 70 percent and the gazette requirement was an added insult to the failed promises of the Pakatan government.

He warned that the quotas will inhibit the state’s economic growth and in the end will affect bumiputeras and non-bumiputeras alike.

For example, building contractors will be adversely affected and many of them will be bumiputeras, said Tan.