No basis to compare Malay land ownership in Penang with Palestine, says analyst

“While the fact is that Malay land ownership is decreasing, it is due to other factors. The Chinese, too, are not far off, their individual ownership of land is not that big, compared to all the other races. They are only slightly above the Malays. Most of the land is owned by developers, not even by the state or the federal government”

(FMT) – There is no parallel between Malays in Penang and Palestinians in the occupied territories because there are two different forces at play, Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk said.

Azeem said while the situation in Palestine was far worse than Penang, there was an element of truth to the argument that Malay land ownership was decreasing in the state, but it was not confined to one demographic.

He said PAS was playing a perception game ahead of the state election, hence the narrative being pushed now.

The reality was that a vast portion of land in Penang was owned by developers, he said.

“There is no parallel whatsoever, there are different forces at play when you compare Penang to the situation in Palestine and Israel.

“While the fact is that Malay land ownership is decreasing, it is due to other factors. The Chinese, too, are not far off, their individual ownership of land is not that big, compared to all the other races. They are only slightly above the Malays.

“Most of the land is owned by developers, not even by the state or the federal government,” he told FMT.

Azeem said the same can be said for most parts of the peninsula. He said the only land divide that existed in the country was between conservation and development, not race.

“This is an old issue that will be played up every now and then, insofar as the voters will react, but there will not be much difference, as the majority of the seats will be won by Pakatan Harapan.

“While the opposition can claim that they will win many seats, they are unlikely to get a simple majority of 21 seats to form the state government.

“It is the perception game, whoever can create a narrative to which the voters can relate to, will win. Truth and facts will go out of the window.”

PAS’ statement comparing the land ownership issues with the situation in Palestine and Israel is a mockery to the Palestinian struggle, DAP organising secretary Steven Sim said.

The Bukit Mertajam MP said PAS had manipulated the Palestinian freedom struggle against Israel for its own political interest.

“For the sake of its narrow political interests, PAS seems to ignore the order from the Agong not to engage in religious polemics and racial sentiments,” he said in a statement.

Sim denied interracial enmity in Malaysia was similar to that of Palestine and Israel.

According to PAS, the Palestinians had 1.5% ownership of their land in 1918 and ended up becoming refugees in their own nation.

The party said research carried out in 2010 showed Malay land ownership in Penang was barely 27%.

It said Penang had committed “systematic seizure” by taking control of districts that were previously Malay dominated.

Sim claimed that PAS had used spurious data so that it could undermine the DAP-led state government.

He said the state government had been trying to create a fair society and ensure nobody was left behind.