Angry Petaling Jaya residents want the Selangor government to correct the inequality, disparity and discrimination executed by the previous BN government in randomly declaring some sections of the city freehold and others leasehold.

Kelana Jaya, where the former menteri besar and exco members lived, was converted from leasehold to freehold more than 10 years ago. Other sections developed by private builders - Section 17, Petaling Garden, Paramount and SEA Park - are also freehold.

There are also pockets of condos and houses on land spread out over the city owned by Yayasan Selangor and the state government, which have arbitrarily been converted to freehold.

During a three-hour meeting at the PJ Civic Centre last night, more than 300 Petaling Jaya residents fumed about how the BN government had indiscriminately declared certain areas freehold.

The residents were joined by professionals, who are also property owners.

Declare Sections 1 to 16 freehold, or else...

They urged the Pakatan government to declare Sections 1 to 16 freehold, or it may have to face the wrath of the voters in the coming 13th general election.

Some 500,000 owners of houses in Petaling Jaya are affected by an alleged administrative error executed by the BN government, which issued leasehold titles.

Section 5 Residents Association vice-president and lawyer V Sivaparanjothi said that it was a wrong done in the past to arbitrarily issue freehold and leasehold titles.

He requested the authorities to “immediately rectify this travesty of justice without any further delay and return the rightful freehold status to the residents”.

“The current government must set it right before the coming general election as Petaling Jaya has always been a freehold area of some 3,800 acres as the Petaling Rubber Estates Limited before the 1950s,” said Sivaparanjothi, who recently returned after carrying out research on the land titles at the London Archives.

“Owners should not be treated unfairly with inferior leasehold title and financial burden whilst the freehold owners have a superior title without any costs. Such treatment to the leaseholders is certainly unjustified and discriminatory,” Sivaparanjothi said.

 

At the meeting, All Petaling Jaya Residents Association (Apac) president Mohamed Izzaddin said, “PJ residents demand for their rightful freehold status because since 1903 the land has been classified as freehold. Through a series of errors, omissions and simple mistakes, several sections and areas within PJ were arbitarily and inconrrectly re-designated as leasehold.

 

“At this meeting today we are highlighting this wrong and imploring our political servants to respond to this passionate request from the community to correct this wrong. Even individual streets were arbitrarily issued leasehold titles instead of correct freehold titles.

'Sufficient documentary evidence'

“We have sufficient documentary evidence to demonstrate the validity of our claim and rightfulness of our request for re-conversion back to original freehold status.

 

“It is really unreasonable for the past leaders to declare some houses in Kawasan Melayu (Section 3) with differing leasehold titles of 30, 60 and 90 years. This is a glaring mistake. The community will work and support any political group in righting this wrong and arriving at a fast track resolution and rightfully give us our freehold titles. We do not want any more empty promises.”

 

pkr weekly pc 260707 haniza talha Although several Barisan and state government leaders were invited, only one, state assembly deputy speaker and Taman Medan assemblyperson Haniza Talha ( right ), attended the meeting.

 

The Pakatan leader was very responsive and promised the residents that in her meeting with the menteri besar this morning she would convey the residents’ request to the leadership.

 

“I can assure you that the present government is willing to change the people lives for a better environment and we will do our best to grant your wishes. The state government may have to set up a special task force to review the freehold status.” 

M KRISHNAMOORTHY is a freelance journalist and local coordinator for CNN, BBC and several other foreign television networks. He was formerly a journalist with The Star and New Straits Times and has authored four books.