Story by YIP YOKE TENG teng@thestar.com.my
The abuse of temporary occupation licences (TOLs) is serious throughout Selangor as the malpractice has been going on for the past 30 years. “The TOL has been used by unscrupulous individuals to suck money from the people. They collect rental from those who use the land, yet they are only paying a small fee once a year to renew the licence,” said Subang MP R. Sivarasa in response to StarMetro’s cover story entitled “Factories in a Fix”. It is learnt that in the case of the Sungai Buloh Industrial Area, TOL holders paid as little as RM100 to renew their licences but they had been collecting between RM5,000 and RM15,000 every month in rental. At least 10% of the land in the industrial area had fallen into the hands of these TOL holders. Also affected by the TOL issue were more than 40 nursery operators along Jalan Sungai Buloh–Subang who had been paying rental ranging from RM400 to RM800 to the Selangor Agricultural Develop ment Corporation (PKPS) over the past nine years, under a joint venture project called Selangor Greenland. The corporation that held the TOL for 72 lots there suddenly announced in November 2008 that it had pulled out from the joint venture, leaving the operators in the lurch. The nursery operators also found out that the corporation paid only about RM15,000 to the Land Office each year but received more than RM380,000 from them annually. Yet, the corporation did little to upgrade the amenities in the area. After much effort, the nursery operators are finally on their way to getting their own TOLs. They were informed of the good news by Sivarasa, Kota Damansara assemblyman Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim and Petaling Jaya city councillor Pannerselvam Varathan during a press conference on Thursday at one of the nurseries in Sungai Buloh. The panel explained to the nursery operators that the eviction notice they had received from the Land Office was only a procedural measure, and that they did not need to shift out. The eviction notice, they said, was to show that the Land Office had officially taken over the land. It was also to ensure that the TOL would be given to the nursery operator who had been using the land. The nursery operators were advised to check on their TOL applications, while those who had not submitted an application should do so immediately. “Today, we have stopped one of the many TOL abuses. “We have no idea how much money the previous TOL holder had taken and whether it was channelled to the state’s coffers, but we are putting an end to that today,” Sivarasa said. He reminded all present that only the TOL holders had the right to use the land, they should never rent it out. Dr Nasir said the relevant authorities, including the Land Office, local council and Public Works Department, had concluded at the previous meetings that nurseries should remain on the current site. However, he said, as the area would be dedicated to the nursery business that had been a draw to tourists near and far, the other businesses would have to give way. “We want you to hold the TOL, not a third party who would try to cash in on the system,” said Dr Nasir. He added that the state was tackling the abuse of TOL stage by stage. “We are investigating on a case-to-case basis. “Many have built houses and businesses on the TOL land; we cannot just go there to bulldoze everything. “Nevertheless, we are monitoring the situation while doing damage control. We want all the third parties to be out eventually,” he said. Sivarasa said the state could expose and stop the abuse of TOL, but prosecuting those who had cashed in on the TOL system lay in the hands of the federal power.