The Perak Bar Committee is pleased to inform that a fruitful and successful meeting was held on 2.7.2020 between the Pengarah, PTG Perak , YB Dato’ Mohamad Fariz bin Mohamad Hanip & his officials and 3 members of the Conveyancing Sub Committee from the Perak Bar. Below are the main issues raised / discussed at the meeting and the outcome/ consensus arrived at:

1. Quota on presentation of documents

This recent practice implemented during the MCO & extended period thereof, is no longer in force. We are informed that PTG, Ipoh is accepting all presentations as per pre-MCO so long as documents are presented during the fixed times each day.

2. Bulk presentations of documents

Members of the Bar are encouraged to seek a special prior appointment for purposes of bulk presentations totaling 100 and above. Dato has informed that his officers will be working on the weekends to attend to this type of bulk work so as not to disrupt the normal presentations by other firms during the weekdays.

3. Delay in processing and registering of strata titles

This matter was brought to Dato’s attention and the possible repercussions faced by lawyers was explained and Dato has informed that the delay is caused due to the registration process having to be undertaken manually and he has assured that this matter will be looked into and a solution will be made known to us .

4. Return of titles submitted for amalgamation / subdivision

The real concern faced by lawyers who submit titles for amalgamation/ subdivision to PTG but who are not informed when the new titles are issued, was highlighted, more so in the case where the new title is delivered directly to the registered owner . Also brought up is the fact that once the title is surrendered for this purpose, any charge endorsed thereon is not carried to the new title and this causes a problem for lawyers acting for financial situations.

 We are informed that PTG are bound to deliver the title to the registered owner upon amalgamation / subdivision. However, the authority is willing to accept an authorisation letter duly signed by the registered owner , allowing the firm of solicitors to accept the newly issued title on his/ her behalf.

5.Utilisation of emails

In line with Selangor where email is being used to inform lawyers if documents are ready for collection/ suspended from registration/ have been collected, we too have urged that this mode of communication be utilised for the benefit of members of Perak Bar.

We received positive response on this and are informed that this method will be utilised once e-tanah comes into operation.

6. Evidence of Quit Rent payments for registration purposes

It has been agreed that for payments of quit rent which are made via online, PTG will accept a printout of the same which is to be given to them for verification and an endorsement will be made by PTG of the receipt number  and date of payment, which printout can then be submitted and accepted for registration purposes.

7. Duration of Menteri Besar/ State Authority consent

(a)This issue relates to Schedule G/ H cash purchasers, where the transfer only takes place after completion of the property whereas the validity of the consent  would have then expired  as it is only for a period of 1 year from date of approval . We had requested for the validity for such consent  to be granted for a longer period ie 2/3 years, as the case may be. To this, we were assured there should not be any reason to reject the application for renewal/ extension of the consent, provided that a clear explanation is given as to why the transfer was not effected within the stipulated 1 year period given earlier.

(b)Foreigner required to obtain Consent to acquire prior to consent to purchase a property without title ( ie under Master Title) . We are made aware that contrary to previous practice, the State authority is declining to accept application for consent to acquire where there is no individual title. We are advised that this could be due to the staff not understanding the concept of ” consent to acquire” as opposed to ” consent to purchase” and steps will be taken to correct this misunderstanding.

© YB Dato’ stressed that members of the Bar are urged to advise / remind their clients that the discretion to grant/ refuse  consent to transfer, lies with the authority and the fact that a large amount of money has been paid under an agreement, is not a factor for consideration in this instance.

8. Affixing of thumb print by solicitors on documents

This issue was raised by YB Dato’ who requested feedback from members of the Perak Bar as there was real concern of the increase in fraud cases involving registered documents which have been denied as having been attested by the solicitor named therein. This has caused a huge loss to the State which has had to bear damages awarded . The proposal is to follow the practice adopted in Kedah where in addition to the signature of the attesting solicitor, he/she will also have to affix their thumb print to the document.

Kindly provide your feedback on this issue as soon as possible to revert to Dato’ and / or his officials on same in the near future. Please email to conveyancingpbc@gmail.com.

 

KAMALA MAHLINI A/P P JEGANATHAN
Chairperson
Conveyancing Practice Committee