By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Nov 6: Some 10 traders along Jalan Perbadanan in Bintawa Industrial Estate have been yearning in the past 33 years for their land title.
Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong, in her Supply (2020) Bill debate, said most of these traders are small cottage industry and operators of salted fish at present sites.
“They were asked to quit from their old site at Petanak in the 80s and move to the present lots under Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL). The problem is, financial institutions does not recognise TOL as the land is considered as state land.
“These traders need an individual land title to prove that they are the registered owners to their lands so that they can use it as collateral for their bank loan and thus, the present predicament made it hard for them to venture into bigger business,” Yong said at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly sitting here today.
She added that these traders were robbed of opportunity to expand their business, as they could not get any bank loan with a piece of TOL.
“Thirty-three years of waiting is a very long time and they have suffered enough. It is unacceptable for the state government to sit on the problem for this long and nothing is done to settle the issuance of land title to these 10 traders.
“If the state government can allow these people to stay on the lands all these years, it is clear that the government has no plans to develop the area for other purpose,” Yong continued.
She urged the state government to issue these traders the titles and let them know of the premiums that they have to pay. — DayakDaily
