Gerakan calls for amendments to National Land Code

KUALA LUMPUR: Amendments to the National Land Code (NLC) have to be made in order to strengthen the latest Federal Court decision and protect landowners in Malaysia, said Parti Gerakan deputy president Datuk Chang Ko Youn.

“Though the latest Federal Court decision was a great relief to everyone, there is a need to make the provisions far more clear with respect to the rights of the original landowners as intended by the legislators of the NLC,” said Chang, who is the head of the party’s Human Rights and Law Bureau in a statement on Jan 25,

Chang argued that it was not uncommon for the government to amend laws to make clear the legislators’ original intentions, especially when the constitutional rights of the people, in this case, the rights of the original landowners, are at stake.

On Jan 22, the Federal Court ruled that the 2001 ruling in the case of Adorna Properties vs Boonsoom Boonyanit @ Sun Yok Eng, permitting fraudulent land transfer, was erroneous.

Following the recent landmark ruling, Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s department said some provisions in the NLC would be amended and strengthened.

Chang urged the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the Attorney General’s Chamber to work closely with Nazri as well as other stakeholders such as the Malaysian Bar Council, the Real Estate and Housing Developers’s Association and other relevant parties to expedite the necessary changes to the NLC.