ALOR GAJAH: Unresolved land ownership issues, stalled customary land gazettements and rigid lease policies have left hundreds of rural families in Machap Jaya facing legal and economic uncertainty.
Pakatan Harapan candidate Datuk Ginie Lim for Machap Jaya said longstanding land issues continued to affect traditional settlements, Felda schemes and Orang Asli villages due to a lack of administrative follow-through.
“If you look across Machap, unresolved land matters remain a common concern among residents.
“In Felda Hutan Percha, for instance, the second-generation (Gen 2) housing land lots are still pending.
“While two other Felda schemes in Machap have since completed their allocations, Hutan Percha still requires that final push to cross the finish line,” said Lim who is also a former Machap assemblyman and state executive councillor when met on a campaign trail.
She said policy continuity was also needed to resolve land issues affecting the state’s indigenous community, noting that seven of Melaka’s 14 Orang Asli villages were located within the Machap Jaya constituency.
Lim said two Orang Asli settlements statewide had been successfully gazetted, while the remaining villages, including those in Machap, were still awaiting the completion of their customary land gazettements.
“Two Orang Asli settlements statewide were successfully gazetted, but the remaining villages, including those here in Machap, are still awaiting the completion of their customary land gazettement, which needs to be expedited,” she said.
Lim also highlighted difficulties faced by agricultural landowners in Chinese New Villages, where authorities had rejected lease extension applications even when existing tenures had matured or were nearing expiration.
“Previously, we allowed landowners to apply to extend their leases even when there were 10 years or more remaining on the tenure. These are some of the matters I hope to see through if given the opportunity,” she added.
Lim said her approach would focus on administrative solutions rather than assigning blame, stressing the need to refine state policies through the state executive council.
“This is fundamentally a matter of fine-tuning state policy.
“Rather than dwelling on past delays or assigning blame, the priority must be to step in, engage the relevant authorities and resolve these applications so our rural communities and farmers have peace of mind over the land they work on,” she said.