By Ling Hui
KUCHING, May 13: The Sarawak government, through the Native Courts, has paid RM11.53 million in compensation involving 128 Native Customary Rights (NCR) land dispute cases as of April 30 this year.
Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department, Datuk John Sikie Tayai, said by the same date, 162 cases involving RM7.35 million are currently outstanding.
Since January 2019, the Chief Registrar of the Native Courts has been appointed by the Sarawak government to be the Controlling Officer of the Native Courts Trust Account.
This is the account where land compensation involving NCR land, which is under dispute, is deposited pending the dispute settlements through the Native Courts’s judicial process.
“A total of 226 cases involving RM12.23 million were handed over to the Chief Registrar in January 2019.
“Another 64 cases involving RM6.64 million were registered up to April 30, 2024, bringing the total number to 290 cases and RM18.87 million in compensation,” said Sikie in his ministerial winding-up speech in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) sitting today.
On the Native Courts’ performance in settling cases, he said 12,148 cases or 66 per cent out of the total of 18,466 registered cases have been settled as of April 30 this year.
He added that there are 6,318 or 34 per cent outstanding cases.
“The Chief Registrar of the Native Courts Sarawak, together with the existing team of 15 Circuit Contract Magistrates, will continue to make every effort to settle the remaining 6,318 outstanding cases, particularly before the District and Resident Native Courts.
“For the last three years, cases involving land compensation have been given priority. This is to ensure that land disputes over NCR do not hamper or slow down the implementation of projects in the affected areas,” he said. — DayakDaily
