Govt seeks to streamline small estate distribution laws
KUALA LUMPUR: The Government is looking into amending the Small Estates (Distribution) Act 1955 to make it easier for beneficiaries, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
The changes would also streamline and allow some of the processes to be done online, he said.
“The amendments will be com- prehensive and beneficial for the people.
“We hope to bring up the amendments in the October Parliament meeting,” he said when met at the Kampong Baru Development Corporation (PKB) Hari Raya open house yesterday.
He also announced that the Government would waive the small estate management fee for landowners in the iconic Kampung Baru here.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made the decision after it was brought up in Cabinet, said Dr Wan Junaidi.
“The Prime Minister has agreed to waive the fee for those in Kampung Baru, which amounts to about RM4mil,” he said.
The waiver is expected to benefit some 5,300 owners. There are 1,355 lots in the 121.8ha area.
Previously, it was reported that PKB had requested that the Government grant an exemption of the estate management fee for the landowners in Kampung Baru.
Its chairman Datuk Affendi Zahari said the fee for the land administrator’s order at 0.2% of the value of their estate was seen as burdening the owners, especially in cases involving several nominees to update the status of the estate.
Dr Wan Junaidi said the Department of Lands and Mines (JKPTG), which is under the ministry, had set up a branch in Kampung Baru to make it easier for people to deal with their estate management.
He said statistics showed that 70% of estate distribution nationwide is managed by JKPTG.
JKPTG said many people did not know the procedures involved in estate distribution, leading to delayed claims by beneficiaries.
The department said some also found the process slow, expensive and troublesome.
It added that measures to claim inheritance should be done quickly to prevent the estates from being frozen.