I'm writing about this as a friend has enquired...
To keep the story short, she bought a condo in PJ using her bumiputra status and would like know whether she could sell to non bumi or transfer (correct term should be "assign" as the strata title for her property has not been issued) to her non bumi husband.
So, here's what I gathered:
First of all, I think many people got confused with the following terms: Bumi Lot, Bumi Quota, Malay Reserved Land, Freehold, Leasehold.
In West Malaysia, everyone knows there are two types of land: either freehold (where you own the land forever), and leasehold (where there is a certain number of years that you can own the land to a maximum of 99 years, after which you have to pay the Government a premium to renew the leasehold or surrender the land back to the state).
Now, what then is Malay Reserved Land?
A Malay Reserved Land is like the Native Title in Sabah. That is, land that can only be owned, sold and transferred to a Malay (or in the case of NT, to a native of Sabah).
That is to say, on top of freehold or leasehold, you have to see if the land (be it freehold or leasehold) is designated as a Malay Reserve!
So many were mistaken when they take it that, oh if the land is freehold/leasehold so it can't be a Malay Reserve. WRONG!
Get this straight first:
Leasehold freehold pertains to the land tenure (number of years you can own the land); while "Malay Reserve Land" pertains to the status of the land, ie, whether it can be owned by you or not in the first place!
Remember, the above are about "land"! Now, let's jump to Bumi Lot or Bumi Quota.
Bumi Lot or Bumi quota refer to a certain number of property in any housing development (it could be landed or non landed property) which has to be sold to the bumiputra pursuant to the Government Policy in Malaysia. A bumi lot or bumi quota need not necessary mean the land on which the property has been constructed on is a Malay Reserve Land be it freehold or leasehold (as I have explained, a Malay Reserve Land can be a freehold or leasehold). Similarly, it may be that the developed land was a Malay Reserve, but that does not mean all the properties constructed on a Malay Reserve Land are bumi lot or under bumi quota!
Of course, before any housing development or any property development is constructed on a Malay Reserve Land, the developer may apply to the state so that the Malay Reserve Land to be converted to a non Malay Reserve freehold or a leasehold. Or else, all houses build on the Malay Reserve Land can only be sold to Malay.
So, when did bumi lot or bumi quota come into the picture?
After the land is being developed and the properties are ready for sell, the local authority will instructed the Developer that a certain lots or percentage of the completed units are to be sold to bumiputra only. (This is the Government's policy to secure the availability of housing accommodation for the bumiputra.)
As such, there are two types of arrangement, either certain lots are specified to be sold to and owned by bumiputra; or the Developer, when selling the properties, has to ensure that 30% of the buyers are bumiputra.
There is a significant difference whether a unit of property is under bumi quota or is a bumi lot.
When a property is sold under the bumi quota, the property does not carry a bumi-lot status. Ie, it is has the same status as any property sold to a non bumiputra. So, a property sold under bumi quota can later be sold to any person, whether bumi or non bumi.
A bumi lot is different. It's a property with "bumi status". As such, it could only be sold and resold ONLY to bumiputra. When the strata title is issued, the document of title will state that the particular property is a "bumi lot".
Remember what's a Malay Reserve Land? Now, by analogy, a non landed "bumi lot" is technically a "Malay Reserve property" even though the land on which it was constructed is NOT Malay Reserve Land. (There has been debate whether this is proper, as the Government has in fact created a new type of property ownership through their "policy"!).
OK, let's come back to my friends question, whether she can transfer her property to her non bumi husband or sell to non bumi.
The answer is a question:
Whether her particular unit is a bumi lot or a property sold under a bumi quota. She can transfer/sell to non bumi if its just bought under bumi quota, but cannot do the same if her property is a "bumi lot".
How could she find out whether it's bumi lot or bumi quota? Write to the Developer and can a confirmation in writing from them.
![DSC_3789[1]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_DimUPjq2ICY/SRj-rjlv8QI/AAAAAAAAAKc/I-Npa9BuTDU/s1600-h/DSC_3789%5B1%5D%5B4%5D.jpg)
The room might not be impressive, but seems clean enough... and hey, at least it has a window!
