SHAH ALAM, April 12 — In refuting the allegation that the size of Malay reserve land in the state had decreased drastically, the Selangor government said the area had instead increased compared to the period before Malaysia achieved independence.

State secretary Datuk Haris Kasim said the government had continuously strived to maintain and control the existing Malay reserve land by monitoring the areas closely and ensuring any revocation of reserve land must be replaced.

"Based on data records, the Malay reserve land area in Selangor has expanded compared to before Merdeka day. As of February 2023, Malay reserve land in Selangor stands at 162,508.97 hectares, an increase of 29.1 per cent compared to 125,845.00 hectares in 1948.

"There had been an increase and decrease in the data on Malay reserve land area in Selangor through the years as a result of revocation and replacement of land for the purpose of public infrastructure development and land reclamation for public facilities such as the construction of highways, airports, water treatment plants and so forth,” he said in a statement in response to the allegations made by state PAS commissioner Datuk Ahmad Yunus Hairi, as reported by a media portal on April 10.

According to Haris, monitoring was implemented as per the circular issued by the Director of Selangor Land and Mines (PTGS) No. 7/2001 on Policy and Guidelines for Revocation and Replacement of Malay Reserve Land and PTGS No. 3/2015 regarding the Guidelines for the Revocation and Replacement of Malay Reserve Land for the acquisition of land for the purpose of building public facilities by the state and federal governments.

He said the effort was also recognised by the Malaysian government through the receipt of the Certificate of Appreciation for Best Practices on Data Collection of Malay Reserve Land which was presented by former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail during the National Land Council Meeting held on December 3, 2018. — Bernama