PJ residents seek freehold status for homes at affordable cost

 

Petaling Jaya resident Rajesh Mansukhlal (second from right) with other residents at the press conference today.

PETALING JAYA: A group of Petaling Jaya residents is appealing to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and caretaker Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari to consider converting leasehold areas in the city to freehold at an affordable cost.

“We are not asking anything for free. We are willing to pay an affordable fee,” said Petaling Jaya resident Rajesh Mansukhlal at a press conference with the residents.

Rajesh said leasehold properties in Petaling Jaya can be found primarily on the north and south sides of the city, namely, Seksyen 1 all the way to the south side of Seksyen 16, as well as the south side of Bandar Utama.

Rajesh, who is also the Rukun Tetangga (neighbourhood watch) chairman of Seksyen 6, told FMT that there are more than 160,000 leasehold properties in Petaling Jaya whose leases will have to be renewed every 99 years.

These residents are expected to pay hundreds of thousands of ringgit in premiums to keep their homes once their lease expires.

He said this was a huge burden on a large number of Petaling Jaya residents as most of them were middle-class civil servants who cannot afford to pay the full premium for a leasehold extension.

“I don’t have any other income saved up for the premium. Nobody in their right mind will set aside a singular fund to pay for the premium. Instead, we save for medical emergencies,” Rajesh said.

He questioned why some newer areas, like Damansara Utama, Kelana Jaya and SS1 to SS7, had received freehold titles while property owners in older parts of the town are down to less than 50 years of their leases — and are now worrying about the hefty premiums.

Rajesh added that most residents from these leasehold areas are early settlers who contributed to the growth and development of the city.

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“We are at a disadvantage compared to all these other (freehold) areas. Why should we be subjected to this discrimination?”

Rajesh said some states such as Perak had offered freehold conversion for certain lands in the state in 2019. More recently, the Penang state government had given residential owners discounts of up to 90% for their leasehold extensions. He said Selangor had only offered a 30% discount.

While the Selangor government currently has a scheme under which leasehold owners can pay RM5,000 to have their lease extended back to 99 years, the caveat is that the owner will need to pay the full premium upfront if they decide to sell the property.

Rajesh said the disadvantage of this scheme was that banks would be hesitant to finance the owner’s premium as the state would hold the “first charge” to the property before the banks.

However, should the government allow these properties to be converted to freehold at an affordable price, Rajesh said residents would be more inclined to invest or start new businesses in the city that may stimulate the economy.

“It’s a win-win situation for PJ residents and the government,” said Jason Tey, a Petaling Jaya resident of more than 26 years.

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However, he warned that Petaling Jaya would be “half-dead” if the leasehold properties remain.

The group, which includes various PJ resident associations in leasehold locations, signed and submitted appeal letters to Anwar and Amirudin earlier this week.

FMT has reached out to Amirudin and his aide for comment. - FMT