However, when The Malay Mail contacted the Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being, Raja Nong Chik promised that the 'qualified' or temporary title (hakmilik sementara) will be converted soon to permanent title (hakmilik tetap or hakmilik lengkap).
When asked by The Malay Mail my response to the minister's promise, I said: "We will wait and see before we say anything."
Thanks to YB Dr Tan Seng Giaw, Member of Parliament of Kepong, here is the explanation for concerned residents:
(1) The reason why residents have been issued "Hakmilik Sementara" in the early 1990s is because the Federal Territory Land Office claimed that the developer had failed to submit the application to carry out its survey.
(2) Because the Survey has never been conducted by the Survey and Mapping Department (Jabatan Ukur and Pemetaan or JUPEM), hence the Land Office was able only to issue what is known as "Hakmilik Sementara". In English, this is "Qualified Title" or better understood as "Temporary Title."
(3) The Qualified Title does not stop you from purchasing or selling a property here. In fact, you can individually pay your private surveyor to conduct a survey of your land and submit to the FT Land Office, but the question is why should the housebuyers be burdened with this additional costs since the failure is on the part of the developer and the two ministries (Ministry of Housing & Local Government and Ministry of Land and Cooperative Development) for their failure to supervise the developer to fulfill its obligations. Again, it is also the failure of the Government all through these 40 years to ensure that housebuyers' rights are protected.
(4) All these 40 years, the FT Land Office should have raised the alarm. Their failure to do so is a show of indifference towards the plight of housebuyers. The question is why has the Government taken so long before it starts taking the necessary actions to convert the qualified title into permanent title? Why should housebuyers in Taman Kepong, one of the earliest development project in the country (developed around 1965), continue to hold a QUALIFIED TITLE, when they should have been awarded PERMANENT TITLES many years ago?
The housebuyers therefore give the FT Land Office up to January 15, 2011 to issue the permanent titles to the housebuyers.
For any enquiries, please email to ejng@pc.jaring.my