Inter vivos gift as land inheritance mechanism for FELDA land holding

Abstract

This study aims to identify the key points of the FELDA land inheritance issues and their possible solutions. Land (Group Settlement Areas) Act 1960 was analyzed as it is the main act that regulates FELDA land management. This study discovered that Section 14 limits the land holding to not more than two holders while Section 15 prohibits subdividing or partitioning over FELDA land holding. An administrator is appointed to manage the land on behalf of other heirs and this practice poses risk as the administrator may fail to execute the trust. Hence, inter vivos gift is proposed to address this problem. It was also found that status of FELDA land holding is considered as ‘Conditional Holding’ since it limits the number of registered holders and authorisation to inherit the FELDA land to the second FELDA settlers generation This study concluded that inter vivos gift is legal and this is evidenced from the Section 215, National Land Code 1965 which demonstrates that FELDA land holding can be transferred to the second generation via ‘Form 14A’ at the land offices with the consent from the State Authority and FELDA management as specified in the Land (Group Settlement Areas) Act 1960.