SELANGOR Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari is elated that Malay reserve land size in the state has expanded to 403,391 acres or an estimated 229,000 football fields.
In 2018, Malay reserve land amounted to 400,711 acres, hence an increase of 2,680 acres.
Certainly, this spells good news for the Malay community generally. However, whether ordinary Malays will benefit from this huge acreage remains to be seen.
Editor’s Note: Amirudin who is also the state Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman and PKR vice-president was addressing claims and concerns over shrinking Malay Reserve Land size in Selangor that are circulating on social media.
There is nothing wrong with creating land reserves for the Malays. Just like the introduction of the Malay Reservation Enactment by the British in the 1910s was intended to stop non-Malays from buying up Malay land.
The British were concerned that Chettiar money-lending entrepreneurs within the Indian community were buying up land from Malay peasants.
While land reserves serve the purpose of protecting land for the Malay community, there is also a downside.
Once land is gazetted as Malay reserve, it cannot be sold to non-Malays. This restriction prevents the land from being sold in the open market. Only Malays can buy and sell Malay reserve land.
Politically, bringing more land into the reserve category might be advantageous. However, there is a downside: ordinary Malays might not have the financial capacity to buy these lands.
Are there non-Malay threats?
The creation of a large reserve of Malay land in a developed state like Selangor provides plentiful opportunities for the rich and connected Malays to gain access to these lands.
There is even a possibility that companies could be formed to develop these lands. In fact, it is already happening in this country.
Malay reserve lands developed by corporations might not be in congruence with the aims and objectives of why Malay reserves were created in the first place.
During the colonial period, there was a real threat of non-Malay merchants buying over the land of Malay peasants. The creation of the Malay Reservation Enactment put a stop to this.
However, I am not sure why the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in Selangor is so gung-ho about increasing the acreage of Malay reserves.
Are there threats from the non-Malays?
Or alternatively, is there an objective behind the gazetting of Malay reserve land to facilitate the strengthening of the Malay capitalist class?
It is obvious that during the colonial days, Malay reserves were created to protect the Malay peasants.
I am not sure whether the purpose of creating Malay reserves today has the same objective.
I think the creation of Malay reserves today is more oriented towards providing land at cheap prices for the emerging Malay capitalist class to venture into commercial transactions using land as a base. – Sept 23, 2026
Former DAP stalwart and Penang deputy chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
