The state government of Perak has shortened the process of applying for freehold titles, said senior executive councilor Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham.

With this move, Perak’s 149,000 people living in 349 planned and 134 new villages on land valued over RM1.5 billion will be able to apply for their freehold titles. The titles will take between two weeks and a month to be issued.

“We want to make it the simplest possible and quickest process. We don’t want to implement it hastily only to be bogged down by problems later,” said Ngeh who explained that the decision was made after the Perak Valuation and Property Services Department had assessed the value of the areas.

“Now we can do it within a day, but we ask the public to be patient and give us between two weeks and a month to deliver the titles,” Ngeh added.

The application process, which previously involved 20 steps, has been simplified to just four, making it possible for applicants to obtain a title within a day.

According to Ngeh, the new process could also resolve other issues, for example those who had paid premium for the last 10 years but still had not been issued a title, or cases of missing files after paying premium for the past 30 years.

Ngeh also said the issuing of freehold titles to the 102,000 in planned villages and some 47,000 in new villages could bring in revenue of between RM300 million and RM450 million for the state.

The issuing of freehold titles to those living in planned and new villages was against the National Land Code, said Ngeh, who added that the state consulted a former Court of Appeals judge and a panel of experienced lawyers on the matter before implementing the move.