Renewal of land leases will continue: Exco man
sun2surf.com 2/8/2005 Giam Say Khoon

PETALING JAYA: Leasehold property owners in Selangor should not be unduly worried as the state government is not going to stop the renewal of expiring leases.

Executive councillor for housing, building management and squatters Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Ahmad Dahlan said Monday's page one report in theSun that leases will not be renewed under the Selangor Structure Plan 2020 as "not true".

"As far as I know there is no such thing saying that the state government will stop renew expiring land leases," he said when contacted.

Mohd Mokhtar said leasehold land owners can extend their leases by applying and paying a new premium based on the current land rate.

He, however, added the state government has the power to acquire land from the owners for public use like building new schools, hospitals and other public facilities.

Meanwhile, the National House Buyers Association (NHBA) said should the expiring leases not be renewed, it would lead to a host of economic and social problems.

Its secretary-general Chang Kim Leong said the move will cause residents to be uprooted and relocated to another place.
Clause FZ20 of the Structure Plan states that leasehold land which have expired will be developed.

The policy will not only force dwellers to move out from their home, but it will also cause leaseholders to lose money when the state authorites take their lands back with a minimal compensation of the value when the lands were bought years ago.

Another impact could also be the reluctance of banks to approve loans for leasehold property.

A briefing on the Structure Plan by the state authorites will be held at 9am on Wednesday at the Holiday Villa Subang.