©New
Straits Times (Used by permission)
by Roger Tan
Chairman, Conveyancing Practice Committee, Bar Council
I REFER to the report "Stiffer
penalties against squatters" (NST, Nov 21) wherein Deputy Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Razak was quoted as saying, after chairing the National Land
Council meeting, that the National Land Code would be amended soon to extend the
implementation of the e–Tanah online land database system to the entire country.
On July 24, the Bar Council handed over a memorandum titled "Prevention and Protection against Fraudulent Land Transactions" to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid.
A copy of the memorandum was also later extended to the Attorney–General's
Chambers.
In the memorandum, the Bar Council has proposed amendments to Section 340(3) and
(4) and Section 187B of the National Land Code.
These amendments, if passed, would legislatively reverse the unjust decision of
Adorna Properties v Boonsom Boonyanit delivered by the Federal Court in 2000.
For the past six years, Adorna Properties has not only put a landowner at risk
of losing his property to fraudsters and forgers but also when the landowner
loses his land to these crooks, he loses everything without any compensation or
remedy.
The Bar Council calls on the government to ensure that the amendments to the
National Land Code will also include provisions to come to grips with these
serious ramifications of Adorna Properties to undo the injustices perpetuated by
this case for the last six years.