Johor to raise levy on property bought by foreign interests
JOHOR BARU: Johor is proposing to raise the approval levy for property acquisitions by foreign interests from 2% to 3% to strengthen land administration and support ongoing system upgrades, says Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
He added that the proposed revision is the first since the levy was introduced in 2014 and comes amid major improvements to the Johor Land and Mines Office (PTG) aimed at enhancing efficiency and transparency in land dealings.
'The state is looking at raising the approval levy from 2% (minimum RM20,000) to 3% (minimum RM30,000).
'These adjustments are necessary to support operational costs and reflect the upgraded level of service delivered to the public and investors,' he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (June 18).
Onn Hafiz also said the proposal includes a revision of the land transfer registration fee for properties worth more than RM500,000, which would see an additional RM500 charge for every RM100,000 increase in property value.
He said that, in addition to the levy rate not being revised since 2014, the registration fee for land transfer transactions has also been imposed since 2004 without any adjustment.
'The proposals have been discussed by PTG with the Johor Real Estate Housing Developers Association (Rehda) and the Johor Bar committee to ensure that the fee adjustments remain fair and justifiable,' he said.
Onn Hafiz added that the revisions were part of a broader overhaul of the PTG system, which is on track for completion by July 31.
He said among the key changes was a major boost in the office's processing capacity for strata titles from 120 folders daily to 600.
'With the upgrade, we can reduce the backlog and shorten turnaround times significantly.
"With 12 new service counters and 54 new positions, including registrars, counter clerks and system officers, are being introduced to speed up processing and reduce waiting times.
'Approval periods for key land transactions are also being streamlined where applications involving foreign interests will be processed in just 21 days, down from the current 70 days, while local transactions will take only seven days, compared to 14 previously,' he added.
Onn Hafiz said these efforts demonstrate the state government's commitment to delivering efficient, transparent and responsive public services.
He also said that to support digital transformation, the state government has allocated RM1.55mil to upgrade the Computerised Land Registration System (SPTB), including modules for e-submission, e-search and e-consent.
Onn Hafiz added that private online searches for strata titles were now available and would soon be expanded to include landed properties.
'A further RM500,000 has been allocated for the development of the e-SBKS system, which will accelerate land-related processes such as conditional approvals, land use changes, boundary divisions and ownership transfers.
'The new system is expected to be launched in September and will reduce approval times from 510 days to just 53 days,' he said.
These enhancements would ease public dealings, speed up land approvals, and strengthen investor confidence in Johor's land administration, he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
25 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Bus drivers struggle on RM700 basic pay, rely on overtime
KUALA LUMPUR: With a basic salary as low as RM700 a month, or sometimes none, bus drivers depend heavily on travel allowances and overtime, often sacrificing their days off just to cover living expenses. A 34-year-old tour bus driver, who only wished to be known as Mior, said he relied entirely on commissions and the distance travelled, based on his customers' requests. "My basic salary is only RM700 a month. I receive a 15 per cent commission for each bus rental, while the remaining 85 per cent goes to the employer or tour bus owner. "If I take on many long-distance trips, I can earn up to RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month, with only five or six days off. "But if I take on shorter trips, I earn around RM2,000. "Based on last year's records, the fewest days off I had in a month was three," he said when contacted. Mior earns about RM400 for a trip from Parit to Seri Iskandar, Johor. A journey from Seri Iskandar to Kuala Lumpur, including sightseeing with his passengers, brings in about RM1,800. With a 15 per cent commission per rental, he pockets an additional RM60 for the first trip and RM270 for the latter. However, a 29-year-old bus driver, who only wished to be known as Mamat, claimed his company did not provide any basic salary. "For a trip from Manjung to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS), I earn about RM50. I can make around RM100 a day for a return trip. "If I have four days off a month, I earn about RM2,600. If I work without any days off, I can make RM3,000," he said, adding that he still needed to apply for leave whenever necessary. He however said some express bus companies provide a basic salary of RM1,700, including travel allowances. Previously, Bumiputera Bus Operators Association (PPBBM) chairman Zainal Abidin Mehat said some companies allowed their drivers to work up to 28 days a month due to a shortage of drivers. He said the arrangement was mutually agreed upon by both the company and the drivers for their shared benefit. Zainal also said that bus drivers typically earn a basic salary of RM1,700 and have to rely on travel allowances and overtime to supplement their income.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
UTM trio develops 24-hour self-service printing solution
JOHOR BAHRU: What began as a trivial issue - printing assignments outside regular hours - became the driving force behind an innovative venture by three Universiti Teknologi Malaysia students, who developed PrintTEX, a self-service kiosk offering round-the-clock printing access. Through their startup, Uninet Teknologi Enterprise, the trio from the Faculty of Computing and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering – Fikri Akmal Aizuddin Bahrim, 23, as Chief Executive Officer; Iqmal Aizat Mohd Zamri, 23, as Chief Technology Officer; and Low Lie Xin, 25, as Chief Operating Officer – began operating the kiosk in December 2023. Fikri Akmal Aizuddin, a final-year computer science student, said the kiosk is complemented by the PrintTEX mobile app, which offers on-demand printing services with rates as low as RM0.20 for black and white and RM0.45 for colour prints. 'The PrintTEX app comes with several handy features, such as users being able to find the nearest kiosk, upload documents and make payments online. 'Users just need to install the app, upload their documents, make a minimum payment of RM3, and then head to the kiosk to scan the QR code and print straight away,' he said when met by Bernama here.\ Fikri Akmal Aizuddin said they first developed a basic prototype or minimum viable product (MVP) in August 2023 using their own funds, which covered development costs, hardware such as printers, storage systems and other electronic components. He shared that with full support from the UTM Centre for Student Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship, his team successfully secured RM30,000 from the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) to assist with system development, documentation, and company registration. 'We developed the entire system ourselves, from the mobile app and integration platform to printer configuration and payment management. It took us around six months for the research and development and another month or two to build the first unit,' he said. Currently, two PrintTEX kiosks are available at the UTM Skudai campus – one in the 24-hour Study Room at the Sultanah Zanariah Library and another at Arked Lestari – while a third unit is operating outside Johor at UNISEL Bestari Jaya in Selangor. The company has also been approached by two higher education institutions under MARA that have expressed interest in allocating space for the installation of the Internet of Things (IoT)-based kiosk at their campuses.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
PrintTEX: UTM trio develops 24-hour self-service printing solution
JOHOR BAHRU: What began as a trivial issue - printing assignments outside regular hours - became the driving force behind an innovative venture by three Universiti Teknologi Malaysia students, who developed PrintTEX, a self-service kiosk offering round-the-clock printing access. Through their startup, Uninet Teknologi Enterprise, the trio from the Faculty of Computing and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering – Fikri Akmal Aizuddin Bahrim, 23, as Chief Executive Officer; Iqmal Aizat Mohd Zamri, 23, as Chief Technology Officer; and Low Lie Xin, 25, as Chief Operating Officer – began operating the kiosk in December 2023. Fikri Akmal Aizuddin, a final-year computer science student, said the kiosk is complemented by the PrintTEX mobile app, which offers on-demand printing services with rates as low as RM0.20 for black and white and RM0.45 for colour prints. 'The PrintTEX app comes with several handy features, such as users being able to find the nearest kiosk, upload documents and make payments online. 'Users just need to install the app, upload their documents, make a minimum payment of RM3, and then head to the kiosk to scan the QR code and print straight away,' he said when met by Bernama here.\ Fikri Akmal Aizuddin said they first developed a basic prototype or minimum viable product (MVP) in August 2023 using their own funds, which covered development costs, hardware such as printers, storage systems and other electronic components. He shared that with full support from the UTM Centre for Student Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship, his team successfully secured RM30,000 from the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) to assist with system development, documentation, and company registration. 'We developed the entire system ourselves, from the mobile app and integration platform to printer configuration and payment management. It took us around six months for the research and development and another month or two to build the first unit,' he said. Currently, two PrintTEX kiosks are available at the UTM Skudai campus – one in the 24-hour Study Room at the Sultanah Zanariah Library and another at Arked Lestari – while a third unit is operating outside Johor at UNISEL Bestari Jaya in Selangor. The company has also been approached by two higher education institutions under MARA that have expressed interest in allocating space for the installation of the Internet of Things (IoT)-based kiosk at their campuses.
