APPROXIMATELY 1,168,123 hectares or 2,886,432 acres of native customary rights (NCR) land have been surveyed perimetrically as of Oct 31.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said the land survey is being done since the implementation of the state government’s new NCR land survey new initiative in 2010.
“Of this total, about 924,596 hectares or 2,284,677 acres have been gazetted as Bumiputera Communal Reserves (Agriculture) under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code. The surveying work is based on applications from the parties involved,” he said.
Awang Tengah, who is also the Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development, said delivering his ministerial winding-up speech today.
He said since 2017, the focus has also been on surveying individual lots for the issuance of land titles under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code in areas gazetted under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code.
“As of Oct 31, a total of 93,222 individual lots covering an area of 112,021 hectares or 276,804 acres have been successfully surveyed, with land titles under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code issued or in the process of being issued,” he said.
To expedite the surveying of individual NCR land lots, claimants are required to be present during field surveys, clearly demarcate their land boundaries, and avoid disputes in their claims to ensure the process runs smoothly, he said.
In response to Baleh, Opar, Meluan, Ngemah, and Batu Danau assemblymen, Awang Tengah said the government consistently ensures sufficient allocations for the NCR Land Survey Programme.
“For this year, a total allocation of RM19 million has been received in stages from the federal government, while the Sarawak government will continue to seek allocations from the federal government and is also prepared to provide additional funding for the programme’s implementation,” he said.
He further said to enhance the surveying capacity under NCR Land Survey Programme, the Sarawak government approved the recruitment of 467 new officers in various categories for the Sarawak Land and Survey Department in 2019.
“At the same time, to augment the programme’s surveying capacity, the services of accredited private surveyors have also been utilised.
“Since the programme’s implementation, 37 project areas have been surveyed by accredited private surveyors. Of these, 29 areas involved perimeter surveys (phase One) covering approximately 181,131 hectares or 447,575 acres from 2015 to 2024.
Meanwhile, eight areas involved individual lot surveys (phase Two) covering approximately 1,803 hectares or 4,455 acres,” he said.
