Section 5 of the National Land Code (NLC) states that land includes:
- The surface of the earth and all substances forming that surface;
- The earth below the surface and all substances therein;
- All vegetation and other natural products, whether or not requiring the periodical application of labour to their production and whether on or below the surface;
- All things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth, whether on or below the surface; and
- Land covered by water.
Land can be categorised into five groups: alienated land (registered title), mining land (mining leases), reserved land (land reserved for public purpose under Section 62 of the NLC), forest reserve (land gazetted under the national Forestry Act 1984) and state land (all land in the state, other than above mentioned).
Article 74 of the Constitution (9th Schedule, list II- State List) states that land is State matters. However, Article 91 (5) of the Constitution and Section 9 of the NLC shall be the duty of the National Land Council to formulate a forum for policies uniformity upon the promotion and control of the utilisation of land in Peninsular Malaysia. This is in line with the government's intention for land administration to achieve the goal of 1 Malaysia: 'People First, Performance Now', continuous effort from all State Governments with respect to land matters will take into account the interests of the Nation.
