KUCHING, Nov 10: Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong has called upon the state government to seriously look into the “No Dealing” restriction which is listed as one of the special conditions in the document of title for lands at resettlement schemes throughout Sarawak.
When debating the state budget today, Yong said this is because such a condition has created more problems for landowners than doing good for them, particularly landowners from BDC Resettlement Scheme, Sungai Apong Resettlement Scheme, and Desa Wira Resettlement Scheme.
The restriction reads as “No transfer affecting this land may be affected without the consent in writing of the Director of Lands and Surveys”.
Presently, the Land and Survey Department only gives consent for transfer of land at resettlement schemes if the Memorandum of Transfer is entered between the landowner and immediate family members.
Due to this “No Dealing” restriction, the landowners from the resettlement schemes are facing difficulties in transferring their lands freely, in particular if they want to transfer their land to someone who is non-family member.
“I can understand the rationale of the Land and Survey (Department) to have such a “No Dealing” condition to make sure all landowners at resettlement schemes do not simply sell off their lands granted by the government. However, we cannot exclude situations whereby the original allottees whom the government given the lands to no longer require the usage of it,” she said.
“We have encountered situations whereby there are landowners who do not have children or that their children have grown up and purchased houses and requested the parents to stay in together, and therefore it is redundant for them to keep the house and land. Also, there are situations whereby the landowners are forced to sell off the house and land due to health reasons as they need money to pay off their medical bills,” she added.
To solve such problems, Yong proposed that the “No Dealing” condition be limited to an initial 10-year period only upon the issuance of the individual title and hoped that the Ministry of Urban Development and Natural Resource can seriously look into this proposal. — DayakDaily
