Land Acquisition Compensation Research Articles

Developing a Compensation Framework for the Acquisition of Orang Asli Native Lands in Malaysia: The Professionals’ Perceptions

This research explores the issues of land rights and land acquisition compensation related to the Orang Asli (the Malay term for indigenous peoples) in Peninsular Malaysia. Acquisition of Orang Asli native lands is inevitable as land is scarce to meet the national growth agenda and socio-economic developments. As an independent country, Malaysia provides constitutional guarantees, and customary land tenure is recognised and respected. Unfortunately, due to the ambiguity in Malaysian legal system in relation to the definition of land rights of Orang Asli native lands, the practice of payment of compensation to acquisition of the land tends to be unstructured, and disparity exists among the different states. It is therefore pertinent to propose a uniform compensation framework for the acquisition of Orang Asli native lands. This research adopts a questionnaire survey as the method of study, the descriptive and inferential analysis technique to present the results. The study showed that laws of Malaysia are deficient with regard to the protection of Orang Asli lands and rights to fair and just compensation. This research found that the position of Orang Asli land rights has not improved much. Due to this unresolved land rights issue, the present structure of compensation as spelt out under Sections 11 and 12 of the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 is perceived as inadequate. As currently practised, in the absence of proper guidelines and regulations, the determination of compensation is entirely at the discretion of the various authorities. Some authorities apply the legislation rigidly, while others are too generous. This research also led to the recommendation that the compensation framework for land acquisition of Orang Asli native lands should possess two categories of compensation -monetary and non-monetary components.

Land Acquisition in Transitional Hanoi, Vietnam

This paper examines the institutional changes in Vietnam's urban development that have emerged as the economy has been restructured in a deliberate national policy entitled Doi Moi. The main focus is on the issue of compensation in land acquisition. Data were collected from field reconnaissance surveys, key informant interviews and secondary sources. Findings revealed a clear move towards the establishment of private property rights on land use, illustrated by the changes associated with land law and the dynamic interplays among the main actors in this transition. The government's role in land acquisition has been minimised gradually. A coalition between the government and land developers was discernible in the case studies, often associated with a low compensation rate in land acquisition, which was proposed by the government in favour of the developers but at the expense of individual sitting tenants. At another level, the law enforcement behaviour of local authorities was shaped by considerations of possible rent-seeking and concerns about intervention from higher-level authorities. These attributes of the transitional institutions in urban development will remain in the foreseeable future if Vietnam continues its current Doi Moi policy for rapid economic growth.

The Return of the Landlord: Chinese Land Acquisition Conflicts as Illustrated by Peri-Urban Kunming

China’s many conflicts over land acquisition highlight China’s growing gap between rich and poor, between a small group of powerful land-hungry elites and the masses of powerless farmers. They show that despite the current stronger formal recognition of farmers’ land use rights and the introduction of devolution and participatory processes including direct village elections, land tenure security is weak. Vague property rights, weak legal procedures for state land acquisition and low legal compensation requirements can only partly explain the continuing land abuses. The fundamental problem is the price gap between arable land and construction land in combination with weak checks and balances on local elites. At present farmers lack adequate formal legal mechanisms to defend their rights when faced with such land acquisitions. As a result, they have tried to use non-legal, factual, and often violent means to protect their interests, with mixed results. The case of peri-urban Kunming shows that mere institutional changes such as enhancing the law’s procedures for acquisition and compensation, the introduction of direct village elections, the development of administrative law and political campaigns to punish abuses have so far not succeeded in enhancing tenure security. Only in areas where a fundamental economic change has occurred and farmers no longer solely depend on agricultural income have elections, petitions and protests been successful in changing practices and making local elites more accountable to the local population. This paper is based on prolonged fieldwork in peri-urban Kunming in Yunnan province during which local farmers, leaders, entrepreneurs and state enforcement officials were interviewed on ongoing land acquisition conflicts.

Payment of Adequate Compensation for Land Acquisition in Malaysia

Land acquisition involves the compulsory taking of land, often against the will of the landowners. The law in Malaysia requires the state to pay compensation adequately; however, adequate compensation is not defined in the statute. Historically, the courts seem to have succumbed to the pretense that the adequacy requirement may be achieved by giving sufficient monetary rewards in exchange. The questions are what monetary quantum is appropriate to constitute the constitutional mandate of adequate compensation; what should be the measure of compensation; what makes compensation adequate, and what are the tests of adequacy? A questionnaire survey was conducted among practicing valuers to discern their views with regard to the above issues. This survey revealed the views that compensation attributes under the stipulated laws are not adequate to fulfill adequate compensation notion under the spirit of Article 13 of Federal Constitution 1957. There is a need to review the heads of compensation structures by incorporating other countries practices such as payment of solatium or premium as over and above total compensation. Most of the valuers believed that land acquisition need not necessarily present the best alternative for the government to secure land for development.

Public sector valuations

Examines the role of statutory valuations and tax valuations in the public sector, making particular reference to the position in Singapore. Describes the three main statutory valuations in the context of Singapore as development charge levy, property tax assessment and land acquisition compensation, and discusses some of the issues and problems arising from the courts′ interpretation of the relevant laws and the legislation governing them. Details development charge valuation.