> NLC nod needed: Najib

The Perak government needs the approval of the National Land Council (NLC) to award freehold land titles to new and planned villages, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.

"In terms of policy and the Constitution, it cannot be done unilaterally, it must go through the NLC. As such, the Perak government cannot implement the move until a decision is taken by the NLC," he told reporters after chairing the NLC's 64th annual general meeting in his office today.

As such, he said, the NLC would be holding a special meeting soon to deliberate Perak government's proposal to award the titles.

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin recently announced that the state did not foresee any problems in awarding freehold land titles to some 110,000 residents of new and planned villages in the state, which would be done in stages.

He had said it would only involve about 6,000ha, amounting to just 0.01% of the land size of Perak.

Najib said the Perak government had its own reasons to award the titles but it should not contravene the NLP as determined by the NLC.

He said the NLC was formed under the Federal Constitution with the objective of streamlining land matters so that there was uniformity among the states.

Najib also said the Internet-based e-tanah land management system would be expanded to Negri Sembilan and Malacca from next year following a successful pilot run in Penang.

If the exercise proved successful, the system would be expanded to all states, he said - Bernama