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Yoursay: A broken promise - land titles for new villages

YOURSAY  | ‘Perak MB should resolve matter for benefit of those forced to move to new villages during Emergency.’

Perak MB reprimands DAP exco for '999-year land title' claim

Gerard Lourdesamy: Why is Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu not following the Pakatan Harapan state manifesto?

Freehold titles, and not 999-year leasehold titles, were promised to Felda settlers, organised villages and new villages in the state.

Apart from preserving Malay reserve land and the bumiputera quota in housing projects, almost 100 percent of Felda settlers are Malays and 80 percent of organised villages are Malay. So what is the issue here?

It is not as if state land is being taken from the Malays and being given to the Chinese new villages.

The entire scheme of granting freehold titles will benefit more Malays than the Chinese. Some new villages have been in existence since the mid-1950s, so why should Malaysians of Chinese origin be deprived of freehold titles?

Land is a state matter, and does not fall under the federal government. The policies of the National Land Council are not binding on the state governments.

Why did Bersatu agree to this promise in the Harapan manifesto together with DAP, Amanah and PKR but is now seen to be backpedalling on it?

Anonymous 1802761448130592: Would the issuance of 999-year land titles benefit the villagers, who have after all been living on these lands for generations? Would the giving of these titles harm other Malaysians?

If the answer to the first question is “yes” and to the second question is “no”, then the menteri besar should resolve the matter in a manner that benefits those who were forced to move to the new villages during the Malayan Emergency.

If the new state government is still stuck in the ways of the old, which we had just rejected, then I doubt the Harapan state government will get to serve the next term.

As the menteri besar is talking about a matter of constitutionality, then it is just an issue of amending it in Parliament.

Yes, we accept the fact it may fail in Parliament, but the very act of sincerely pushing the amendments in Parliament goes a long way in ensuring that endearing goodwill is embedded in the hearts of many Malaysians.

Let's all be Malaysians, and not be forever trapped in the downward spiral of race and religion which benefits no one other than the evil bigots and rent-seekers.

Behsaikong: I have no idea or knowledge of this menteri besar, nor am I necessarily supporting him.

But speaking generally, there seems to be a feeling and view that if you are the government, you should freely and swiftly share everything in public.

Understandably, in the previous government, which was dominated by Umno, those in government maintained their silence about what their leader had been doing.

But in cases such as this one in Perak, an exco member had the opportunity to discuss and debate freely within the exco about the issue.

If we, the voters and the public, insist and want individual exco members to blurt everything out in public whether or not he or she had given his opinion within the exco or not, won't there be chaos?

Being government - or, for that matter, opposition - is a collective responsibility.

You talk first among yourselves. Disagree with your menteri besar or prime minister internally and fiercely first, and give him a time frame before you go to the public.

Lone rangers are not necessarily good representatives of their voters; they can well be representatives of their own selves and egos.

Anonymous_d395a08d: It's also possible that dissent is discouraged or even suppressed during closed-door meetings.

Has the MB asked all exco members for input before putting this to a vote and implementing a new policy? I'm sure such official meetings would be minuted. The truth is there.

N1: Faizal committed the same mistake himself for openly criticising the DAP representative Abdul Aziz Bari in front of the press.

Don't point one finger at others when four of your own fingers are pointing at yourself. As a menteri besar, he should have settled this issue in a private meeting.

Malaysian-United: Faizal himself goes public but expects others to give their opinions behind closed doors. Anyway, what is so wrong about letting the public in on policies that affect them?

Redmann: Why are these experts, like Abdul Aziz, and others who claim knowledge of land titles, not defer to the common law doctrine of usucaption where the Orang Asli have long been hailed as the undisputed original landowners?

The Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 and Article 8(5)(c) of the constitution must be read in conjunction to set the record straight.

Federal land and state land are legal fictions. Why aren't the Orang Asli consulted?

Why hasn’t a dialogue been started with these original and only landowners who are more like custodians because they have always believed in communal ownership, not the Westminster-imported notions of private land ownership?

If Malaysia is to continue with its “Look East” policy, we must shun the Westminster monster that is wreaking havoc with Malaysian lore and law.

Anonymous 770241447347646: Land, money or whatever possession is not ours to keep permanently. We have to let it go when we leave Mother Earth.

Why make a big deal out of this issue, when it was part of the manifesto?

Think of new villagers as Malaysians and stop using our racial eyes. Only then can we really move forward.


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