LUNDU, July 8: Native Customary Rights (NCR) land owners who believe in allegations that land gazetted under Section 6 of Sarawak Land Code will be seized by the Sarawak government can return their titles, said deputy chief minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
“Claims that Section 6 is intended to seize is untrue and politically cheap. This is because under this section, the land is considered as Bumiputera communal reserve to identify the validity of NCR boundaries and registered as ‘to be put into land register’. Therefore, there is no doubt about the boundaries between communities as it has been been measured, marked and plotted,” Awang Tengah said.
He was speaking at a handing over of land titles ceremony today where a total of 173 land titles under Section 18 were issued to landowners from Kampung Pueh, Sematan.
Awang Tengah also pointed that the Land and Survey department will conduct surveys on individual lots for areas gazetted under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code based on the application of land claimants.
“To date, 34,091 individual lots have been successfully surveyed involving an area of 42,265 hectares (104,436 acres). Land titles were also issued to the respective owners under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code,” he said.
Under Section 18, Awang Tengah said among the privileges for landowners was that they were free from any premiums or land taxes and the title was for life.
Meanwhile, Sarawak government has successfully certified 897,142 hectares (2,216,838 acres) of NCR land since 2010 and the titles were issued under Section 18.
All the relevant information can be obtained and accessed at any Land and Survey Department office or online via eMap and LASIS Mobile Apps.
Awang Tengah then told NCR landowners, “if you believe in the allegations made against Sarawak government, then you can return the land title issued to you. I have always said this before, even at other events or press conference.”
However, he said that no one has returned their Section 6 land titles to the government.
“This shows that the rakyat has accepted the government’s perimeter survey and the allegations made against it is a big lie.
“As a matter of fact, the number of applicants for perimeter survey on individual lots after the area was gazetted under Section 6 is increasing,” Awang Tengah added. —DayakDaily
