By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, May 20: The Sarawak Legislative Assembly has passed the Land Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025 which allows severe penalties to be imposed on individuals transporting rock material beyond the State’s borders without a specific licence issued by the director of Land and Survey Department.
Under the amended Section 32A, all stages of handling, from on-site removal to off-site transit, requires proper licensing.
The penalties have been substantially increased, imposing fines between RM50,000 to RM500,000 or imprisonment up to five years or both.
“Additionally, new subsections introduce a legal presumption of guilt for anyone found in possession of rock materials, making enforcement more effective.
“Courts are now also required to order a person convicted of the offence to pay to the government a sum of at least ten times the royalty or payments due, with amounts recoverable as civil debt,” said Second Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan when tabling the Bill.
He also brought attention to Section 32AA of the amended law which provides that any person found transporting rock materials out of Sarawak without a valid licence or in breach of licence conditions, face a minimum fine of RM100,000, up to RM1 million, or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
“Together, Sections 32A and 32AA form a comprehensive legal framework to regulate the extraction, internal movement and external export of rock materials, safeguarding the State’s resources and strengthening revenue collection mechanisms,” said Awang Tengah who is also Deputy Premier.
On a whole, he said, there were amendments involving 24 sections, along with the introduction of three new sections, covering key areas of land management and land administration, legal interpretations, enforcement mechanisms, and digital transformation.
He elaborated that the Bill introduced significant changes across multiple parts of the existing legislation, ensuring that Sarawak’s land management and land administration system remains efficient, and aligned with the current best practices in land governance and regulatory administration.
Awang Tengah who is also Deputy Premier also touched on the introduction of Section 171A which provides a formal mechanism for the registration of wakaf or religious endowment lands in the Land Registry.
This amendment, he explained, empowers individuals and Majlis Islam Sarawak to apply for such registrations and extends similar provisions to other religions that have equivalent concepts.
To strengthen Sarawak’s enforcement capabilities, Awang Tengah said that Section 29 has been amended to provide enhanced penalties for the unlawful occupation, cultivation, and clearing of State land.
Any person who commits such offence are now liable to a fine of up to RM500,000 or imprisonment for a term of up to five years.
Section 230 has also been revised to increase penalties for the subdivision and development of land without proper approval, with fines of up to RM3 million and an additional daily penalty of RM5,000 for continuing offences.
Meanwhile, the new amendments also allows online submissions of documents.
“n our commitment to leverage technology for efficient governance and service delivery, Section 234 is amended to enable the digital submission of documents where the requirement of physical copies to be submitted is no longer required.
This is also in alignment with our goal of a more efficient and towards a paperless land management and land administration system.
The Bill was passed after 16 debates from the backbenchers.
During his winding-up speech following the passing of the Bill, Awang Tengah said its introduction was timely and necessary in view of Sarawak’s evolving socio-economic landscape, increased demands, and the growing complexity of land management and administration.
“These amendments are essential to strengthening Sarawak’s land management and land administration system, ensuring that it remains efficient, adaptable, and align with the current best practices of governance sector,” said Awang Tengah. — DayakDaily
