UDA to develop Malay reserve land

> Group eyeing lots outside Kuala Lumpur for future development

KUALA LUMPUR: UDA Holdings Bhd is in the midst of its plan to develop about 1.62 million hectares of Malay reserve land nationwide following its success in developing idle land in the country.

Its chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Shafei Abdullah said UDA has been surveying Malay reserved land with development potential in Selangor and Johor to increase the value, which is much lower compared to freehold land.

He said most of the lots are classified as agricultural land and are left idle as there is no demand for them.

As such, he said, UDA is ready to become a pioneer in the development of Malay reserve land, especially those outside Kuala Lumpur.

“In fact, our board has made the decision to go to all these states outside Kuala Lumpur to identify land that we can develop, as most of the land is located outside the city and would be valuable in the future.

“Right now these areas are not as big as Kuala Lumpur, but I believe they can be transformed into towns,” he told reporters after delivering a talk on Prospects of Bumiputera Properties Development yesterday.

Mohd Shafei also proposed that the government re-evaluate Malay reserve land so that it could increase in value.

“I’m also proposing to split the lots which have been reserved for agriculture, as an acre of agricultural land can be divided and have many owners.

“The problem arises when there is more than one owner for one lot, as it makes it difficult for the authorities to develop the land as they would need to obtain approval from the lot owners before it can be developed,” he said.

Mohd Shafei said the problem could be resolved by relaxing the regulations on ownership to allow the land to be developed much faster, thus becoming more valuable.

He also suggested for the government allow the land to be leased to non-bumiputras to increase the land’s marketability and attract interest from banks to provide loans to the landowners.

On the development of waqf land, he said UDA has identified 2.02ha and 4.05ha of waqf land to be developed in Sabah and Sarawak respectively.

Currently, he said, the company is actively developing waqf land in Penang and has started to develop 10.93ha in Alor Star as well as 0.77ha and 16.19ha in Ipoh and Meru respectively. – Bernama

From left: M&A Securities Sdn Bhd executive director/head of operations Goh Hock Jin, QES Group Bhd executive director Liew Soo Keang, Chew, M&A Securities Sdn Bhd managing director (corporate finance) Datuk Bill Tan and corporate finance head Gary Ting.