Sibu: Sibu Member of Parliament Oscar Ling Chai Yew has raised concerns about the Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) ‘s new procedure, which requires council review and approval before housing land titles can be renewed.
He explained that the move could create difficulties for low-income families, possibly preventing them from renewing their land titles.
“If the renewal of land titles also requires the council to inspect the condition of the buildings, this would be problematic as the expiring titles are typically linked to old buildings, which would need significant repairs to meet the council’s requirements.
“For homeowners facing financial difficulties, this could lead to expired titles and an inability to renew them. Reapplying for a land title would be extremely challenging in such cases,” he said in a statement.
He added that without SMC’s flexibility, some families might not be able to renew their land titles, potentially risking the loss of their land.
“I acknowledged the council’s efforts to enhance building safety, but don’t use the land title renewal as a bargaining tool.
“Instead, SMC can explore other ways to ensure the safety of old buildings, such as formulating a Sarawak-specific urban renewal policy to provide a systematic way to rebuild and secure aging structures,” he said.
Oscar urged the SMC to review the new requirement carefully to avoid causing additional hardship for low-income groups.
