Malay reserve land nationwide increased by 4 million hectares

KUALA LUMPUR: The total area of Malay reserve land nationwide has increased to four million hectares as of October last year, said Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Hamim Samuri.
This is a 10% increase from the same data taken in 2008, he told the Dewan Rakyat.
He said despite land matters being under the jurisdiction of the state government, the ministry has established the Peninsular Malaysia Malay Reserve Data Management Steering Committee to monitor the management of such land.
"The ministry has initiated steps to establish the committee to gather the accurate data ... so that it could be used as an important reference by the state's management," he said during the question and answer session.
He was replying to a question from Datuk Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (BN - Tanah Merah) who asked on the details of the total acreage of Malay reserve land that remained.
Hamim also said that the federal government did not have the right in managing the status of Malay reserve land as the matter was under the purview of each state.
"Although the issue is mentioned in the Federal Constitution, but it (Malay reserve land) is the right of the state.
"The Federal Constitution is not supreme as land falls under state affairs," he added.