Malay reserve land in Kelantan has been approved by the state exco to be leased out for 99 years to non-bumiputera companies for the purpose of ‘development', alleged Malay daily Utusan Malaysia in a front page story today.

Such projects include Lembah Sireh, Bandar Baru Tunjong, Muzium Pasir Pekan, Kuala Krai land port, KB Mall, Tune Hotel and Ladang Rakyat.

The amount of land involved is considerable. According to Utusan , the Lembah Sireh project alone covers an area of 400ha but came with a premium payment of only RM1 million.

What is puzzling, the report states, is that while there are many qualified Malays in Kelantan and also from outside the state complaining of difficulty in purchasing land, the state government is allegedly siding non-bumiputera companies.

This is despite the Kelantan Land enactment that has strict conditions to ensure bumiputera ownership.

Utusan also quoted a district officer who wanted to remain anonymous that besides getting approvals from the exco, non-bumiputera companies will tie up with state linked companies and to ensure that their projects proceed smoothly.

However the daily reports that they were made to understand that the co-operation is not strategic as claimed by the state-linked companies, with their participation often limited to assisting in the set up stage of the projects only.

The daily also remarked that the state government seems to trust the non-bumi companies to develop Malay reserve land, although some have unimpressive track records and have even faced bankruptcy.