TWENTY-NINE areas covering 14,662 hectares or 36,230 acres of land have been approved for perimeter survey in Opar constituency as of Mar 31.
Natural Resources and Urban Development Minister Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the survey is done under phase one of the new Native Customary Rights (NCR) Land Survey Programme.
“Out of the total area, 23 areas covering 11,271 hectares or 27,851 acres have been surveyed. While, two more areas covering 1,203 hectares (2,973 acres) are currently being surveyed.
“Meanwhile, four additional areas covering 1,998 hectares (4,937 acres) will undergo surveying in the near future,” he said in reply to Billy Sujang (GPS-Opar) during the question-and-answer session in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) today.
Earlier, Billy had asked about the ministry’s plan to accelerate the land surveying process to achieve full coverage of up to 100 per cent given that the coverage of NCR land survey under Sections 6 and 18 is still low.
Len Talif said out of the 23 areas where the perimeter survey has been completed, a total of 17 areas covering approximately 7,324 hectares (18,099 acres) have been gazetted as Bumiputera Communal Reserve (Agriculture) under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code (SLC).
“Meanwhile, the remaining six areas are still undergoing various stages of gazettement processes,” he said, adding that for areas where the perimeter has been surveyed and gazetted as Bumiputera Communal Reserve (Agriculture) under Section 6 of the SLC, landowners willing to have their land surveyed individually must submit a written application for surveying and issuance of land title under Section 18 of the SLC.
“Once the area has been individually surveyed, the Land and Survey Department will prepare the Native Customary Rights Land Claim Schedule, where the schedule will be displayed in public places such as mosques, churches, community halls, and government offices, including District Offices for 30 days.
“The display of this schedule aims to provide an opportunity for interested parties to check for any errors in the schedule before land titles under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code are issued,” he said.
Len Talif also said that under the second phase of the land surveying programme in Opar constituency, seven areas have been approved for individual lot survey.
“Out of this number, one area covering approximately 159 hectares (393 acres) has been surveyed. While five more areas covering 3,416 hectares (8,441 acres) are currently being surveyed, with 2,058 hectares (5,085 acres) already surveyed involving 2,048 lots.
“One more area covering 271 hectares (670 acres) will commence surveying subject to the readiness of land claimants at the field,” he said.
Under the Traditional Village Survey, he said, a total of 35 villages have applied for survey and issuance of land ownership letters under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code.
“Out of this total, seven villages have been approved, with two of them already surveyed and five others scheduled for surveying.
“As for the applications for the remaining 28 villages, they are in various stages of review,” he added.
He said for villages that are yet to be included in the survey programme, village chiefs and community leaders can submit their applications to the Land and Survey Department of the Kuching Division.
“To ensure effective processing and implementation of NCR land survey, land claimants must be prepared for their land to be surveyed by identifying their land boundaries, ensuring disputed land is free from disputes, and being present during field survey.
“The establishment of land committees among land claimants is highly encouraged to assist in preparation work before, during, and after surveys are conducted,” he said.
