As this article is not available online at the Star news website, I am pasting the reply from the Kedah's Housing EXCO after I have presented the 3 letters as evidence of the implementation of 70% Bumi Quota for Housing Development.
According to the reported news in Star:-
1. In an immediate response, he denied my allegation.
2. However, he said the developers themselves had made an application to sell 30% fo their housing quota to non-bumiputra (without any directive from the state government).
To summarize what have transpired yesterday, Menteri Besar of Kedah had denied any implementation of the 70% bumi quota for housing in Kedah.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/10/18/nation/7246981&sec=nation
“The state executive council had never increased the quota. The 50% bumiputra quota for housing projects on swapped land still stands,” Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak said when met after launching the National Language Month here yesterday.
So, today, the Kedah Housing EXCO indirectly confirms that there are 70% Bumi Quota for Housing Development in Kedah where the developers had made such 70% Bumi Quota application themselves.
The interesting part in his reply is the state government now implies that the Developer voluntarily and happily self-imposed the 70% Bumi Quota upon themselves. That is after spending tons of money to swapped the Malay Reserve land into a non-Malay reserve land so that the development can be opened up to everyone in this country.
What is Swapping?
* Swapping of land for housing development in Kedah usually involves Alor Star, where more than 90% of the land are under Malay Reservation. Without such swapping, development of a Malay Reserve land can only be sold 100% to Bumiputras. In such case, swapping involves a Malay Reserve land (Land A) intended for development with a non-Malay Reserve land (Land B). Usually, Land B must be more than 5% of the land size of Land A. There is no reduction of Malay Reserve Land under this process. A premium (example RM15,000 per acre) is normally paid to the owner of Land B to enter Land B into Malay Reservation. After the swapping process, Land A would be a non-Malay Reserve Land and Land B would turn into a Malay Reserve Land. Under Barisan Nasional adminstration of Kedah last time, the housing Bumi Quota for the development of Land A after the swapping process was 30%.
After Pakatan Rakyat took over Kedah, they had increased the Bumi Quota to 50%.
They were already numerous complains from every corner of Kedah against the increase of such Bumi Quota to 50% for the past 2 years.
Now, do you think there would be any developer who is so happy to propose themselves to increase the Bumi Quota to 70% after spending tons of money for the swapping process? What then is the purpose of swapping the land?
It is interesting to note that the Kedah State government is totally silent on my statement that "the state had imposed a requirement for these Bumi Quotas (which is a non-Malay Reserve land after the swapping process) to be gazetted as Malay Reserve Land". This would increase the Malay Reserve Land and is against Article 89(2) of the Federal Constitution.
For now, I shall wait and see what is the next response from the state government in addressing this issues (2 issues to be exact - the Bumi Quota & the gazzeting of Bumi Quota as "Malay Reserve Land").
p/s: There are some media (including the offical state information website at www.wartakedah.net) that reported the state government's claim that the case of 70% Bumi Quota only involves one (1) developer who volunteered for the 70% Bumi Quota. I can confirm that this is false. There are more than one.
http://www.wartakedah.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=455%3Aexco-perumahan-sahkan-dakwaan-mca-dan-gerakan-adalah-tidak-benar&catid=36%3Aberita&Itemid=67&lang=ms
