Land acquisition in Malaysia: policy context and praxis for oil and gas hub project in eastern Johor
Azmi, Rohani; Mohd Shahrizan, Sahid; Mohd Halim, Hasbullah; Suhailizan, Suliman; Amirul Haffiz, Ariff; Salfarina, Samsudin; Robiah, Suratman
Johor State Secretary, Malaysia; Johor State Secretary Incorporation, Malaysia; Johor Land and Mines Department, Malaysia; Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Land Acquisition involves the compulsory taking of land. In Malaysia, land acquisition can be a
complex and time-sensitive process. The land acquisition process in Peninsular Malaysia is
governed by Land Acquisition Act 1960 (Act 486). Even though all states in the Peninsular
Malaysia are adopting the law, however the way of how it is implemented would be different
according to each state. The Pengerang Intergrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) is one big step in
creating value to the downstream oil and gas value chain in Johor. Sited in Pengerang, it is one of
the largest pieces of investment and compulsorily acquire villagers land. The Project Will House
Oil refineries, Naphtha Crackers, Petrochemical Plants as well as a Liquefied Natural Gas Import
Terminal and a Regasification Plant. The compulsory acquisition process for the PIPC project is
in compliance with the LAA 1960 (Act 489) and land required by the State Authority. The
process include hearing, compensation and court objection among others which are consistence
with the applicable land laws and regulations as stated in the above-mentioned act. This paper
discusses the action taken best approach and success story of the project. The discussion focuses
on critical issues associated with or derived from land acquisition. It also includes the review on
the best approach taken and highlights valuable lesson behind the project.
Event: Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2019
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