KUCHING, Oct 28: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas says Works Minister Baru Bian did not object to perimeter survey on Native Customary Rights (NCR) land under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code in Joint Federal-State Governments Action Committee meetings.
Uggah said both he and Baru are joint-chairmen of the Joint Federal-State Governments Action Committee.
“One of the agendas for deliberation under this committee during its meeting on June 28, 2019 was on the proposal by the Land and Survey Department Sarawak on how the office is going to use the RM10.3 million of federal funding for the survey of NCR land.
“The meeting reached a unanimous decision to accept the Land and Survey Department Sarawak proposal to use the fund for Perimeter Survey under Section 6 and the Survey under Section 18, and there was no voice of dissension and this consent was duly recorded in the minute.
“At the subsequent meeting of the committee in September 27, which we both again co-chaired, the minute was read out for conformation, again, there was no dissenting voice, and if the Honourable Works Minister had seen it fit to object, he should have voiced out his disagreement then and not now,” said Uggah in a press statement today.
Uggah acknowledged that it has been and will be one of the heavy agendas of this committee to agree on how the federal fund should be utilised.
“If leaders should play to the gallery or populist politics, this is tantamount to putting the spanner in the works.
“The landowners will be in the most disadvantageous position. Needless to say, the Sarawak state government will continue to be committed and utterly professional in seeking the most practical and mutually beneficial solutions in dealing with the survey of NCR land,” said Uggah.
Baru who is PKR Sarawak chief has on Saturday (Oct 26, 2019) denied the allegations on social media that he had agreed with the move taken by the state government in measuring native customary rights (NCR) land under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code.
He said he had maintained that he had always wanted the NCR land in Sarawak to be measured under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code because it was more fair to its owners. — DayakDaily
