GEORGE TOWN: The Malay community’s interest would be upheld if aggressive effort is underway to develop wakaf (endowment) land here.
The Penang Malay Association (Pemenang) president Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff said the failure to properly manage the 12 hectares (approximate) of wakaf land in the city was a loss for the Muslims in Penang as most of the land is located in prime areas which come with a high real estate value.
He said the Penang Islamic Religious Council (MAIPP) should act more aggressively to realise the effort and find a way to best develop the land, especially considering how challenging life is for city residents in the state.
“I have been fighting for long time for the development of wakaf land, especially in the urban area, because it can be used as to help Malays residing in urban areas in Penang.
“Among the constraints to develop the wakaf land includes the refusal from squatters living on the land to move out,” Yussof told reporters after a public lecture at Universiti Sains Malaysia here.
He said, for example, the wakaf land in Kampung Mekam, located about four kilometres from the city centre, is now occupied by some 100 families. However, with proper planning, it can benefit even more people if high-rise buildings such as apartments were developed on the land.
Yussof added it was not because there was no development of wakaf land in the state but the number remains small and thus, it is not able to improve the well-being of the Malays in Penang.
He hoped that a development project in Tanah Wakaf Shaik Eusoff here will be successful and can serve as a precursor to the development of other wakaf land in the state.
Yussof was giving a lecture on the lives of Malay community in Penang before independence.