LAND in Jepak that has been placed under Section 47 of the Sarawak Land Code will eventually be released if it is not required for development, said Urban Development and Resources Assistant Minister Datuk Len Talif Salleh .
“The release of land placed under Section 47 of the Sarawak Land Code will be carried out after the areas that are required are identified and finalised via the land retrieval process,” he explained.
Len was replying to Chiew Chiu Sing (PH-Tanjong Batu) who suggested that some of the land placed under Section 47 be released for the benefit of the villagers.
“We need a vast area because the Development of Jepak Structure Plan involves its use for the purpose of green areas, places of education, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and expansion of industrial estates,” said the assistant minister.
He added that the development of this area could create a satellite town like Kota Samarahan.
Chiew had pointed out that with the upcoming construction of Kuala Kemena Jepak Bridge, residents of nearby Kampung Jepak could potentially benefit from the resulting hike in land prices at the village. However, with Section 47, he said the price of the land was ‘frozen’ and he felt that the villagers would be losing out.
Len replied that was the exact reason why Section 47 of the Sarawak Land Code was imposed.
“In any development process, we normally impose Sections 47 and 48 to ensure that there will not be unscrupulous people buying the land and selling it at a higher price in the future.
“This we will defend to prevent irresponsible parties from taking advantage of the price of land at Kampung Jepak,” he explained.
Len added that the area of land gazetted under Section 47 of the Sarawak Land Code via G. N. No. 3555 dated November 9, 2017, for the purpose of the Development of Jepak Structure Plan, Bintulu, amounted to about 2,098 hectares.
“The purpose of this gazetting under Section 47 of the Sarawak Land Code is to allow preliminary works and inspections at the field to be conducted in order to determine the suitability of the area for proposed projects,” he continued.
