By Nigel Edgar
BAU: The state government will do all it can to recognise Native Customary Rights (NCR) land even if the federal government do not provide allocation for it in the Federal Budget 2019.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the previous federal government was kind enough to recognise the need to resolve NCR issues in the state and provided annual allocations to the Land and Survey Department to conduct perimeter surveys of NCR lands even though it was a state matter.
“Since October 2010, a total of RM161 million have been allocated by the previous federal government for this effort.
“Unfortunately, in the Federal Budget 2019, there have been no specifics to continue this perimeter survey programme by the present federal government,” he said after a walkabout at Kampung Sudoh in Singai here this morning.
Because of that, Abang Johari said the state government had allocated RM40 million out of its own pocket to continue the perimeter survey under Sections 6 and 18 of the State Land Code this year.
The first stage of the state-initiated perimeter survey was for Bumiputera Communal Land for agriculture under Section 6 of the Land Code. He said as of Dec 31, 2018, some 877,195 hectares had been surveyed statewide and, out of that, 712,090 had been gazetted.
For stage two of the programme, as of Dec 31, 2018, a total of 24,920 individual lots had been surveyed encompassing 31,341 hectares. Out of that, 9,923 lots of about 10,512 hectares had been issued titles under Section 18 of the Land Code.
“The programme has successfully surveyed 57,821 hectares of land in Kuching Division. Out of that, 48,384 hectares have been gazetted under Section 6 of the Land Code.
“The second stage of the programme in Kuching Division have surveyed 3,945 individual lots involving 3,461 hectares, and 1,404 of them have been issued titles,” he said.
For Tasik Biru constituency, Abang Johari said 26,589 hectares had been perimeter surveyed, and 22,280 had been gazetted.
“This proves that the state government is honouring its promises to gazette your NCR land under Section 6 of the Land Code and your individual lots under Section 18 of the Land Code.
“We prove it today by presenting 636 land titles under Section 18 of the Land Code to the landowners of Kampung Daun, Kampung Tanjung Bowang and Kampung Senibong here,” said Abang Johari.
He also pointed out that the state government had also gazetted Mount Singai as Communal Land for heritage measuring up to 369 hectares for the Bisingai Bidayuh community here.
“As of today, the state government has also gazetted Pimu’ung Singai area of about 1,395 hectares as Communal reserves for the community here,” he said.
Apart from that, the state government had also been helping the non-Islamic religious institutions in Bau through various development projects, including the building of places of worship, cemetery plots, and also given land titles to the Archbishop Bishop of Kuching for the Catholic Memorial and Pilgrimage Centre amounting to 1.9671 hectares here. — DayakDaily
