Q.
S.4 of NLC - What is it? What is so important about this S.4?
A.
If you read NLC and familiar with indefeasibility of title, you will understand that there are exceptional cases where the Land Registration system (The Torrens System) might not guarantee ownership 100%. This means the NLC and its doctrine of "Register is everything" does not apply.
Why is this so?
The main reason is that there were custom laws and practices that might still leave remnants which affects the interpretation of the law. For exceptions to "indefeasibility" please read further here & here (jual-janji & harta sepencarian).
S.4 of NLC deals directly with the issues of other laws and enactments which over-write on NLC. Let us look at S.4 NLC.
4. Savings.
(1) Nothing in this Act shall affect the past operation of, or anything done under, any previous land law or, so far as they relate to land, the provisions of any other law passed before the commencement of this Act:
Provided that any right, liberty, privilege, obligation or liability existing at the commencement of this Act by virtue of any such law shall, except as hereinafter expressly provided, be subject to the provisions of this Act:
(2) Except in so far as it is expressly provided to the contrary, nothing in this Act shall affect the provisions of -
(a) any law for the time being in force relating to customary tenure;
(b) any law for the time being in force relating to Malay reservations or Malay holdings;
(c) any law for the time being in force relating to mining;
(d) any law for the time being in force relating to sultanate lands;
(e) any law for the time being in force relating to wakaf or bait-ul-mal;
(f) the Trengganu Settlement Enactment, 1356;
(g) the Padi Cultivators (Control of Rent and Security of Tenure) Ordinance, 1955;
(h) the Kelantan Land Settlement Ordinance, 1955;
(i) the Land (Group Settlement Areas) Act, 1960;
(ia) the Perlis Land Settlement Enactment 1966; or
(j) any law for the time being in force relating to exemptions from the payment of land revenue;
and, in the absence of express provision to the contrary, if nay provision of this Act is inconsistent with any provision of any such law, the latter provision shall prevail, and the former provision shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.
Ref:
S.4 NLC, 1965.