KAPIT: The Sarawak government recognises Native Customary Rights (NCR) land ownership, stressed Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing.
Since 2000, the government’s approach was through the “Pengukuran Kampung Tradisional” (traditional village survey) method but this was a slow process, he added.
Between 1960 and 2010, only 260,000 hectares (642,460 acres) had been surveyed using this method.
To expedite the process, the Land and Survey Department adopted the “Pengukuran Tanah NCR Inisiatif Baharu” (new initiative to survey NCR land), and some 880,541 hectares (2.17 mln acres) had been surveyed up until April 30 this year.
“The new initiative is to survey NCR land – first, perimeter survey under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code, followed by individual lot survey under Section 18.
“Section 6 is to gazette the NCR land for longhouses while Section 18 is to allow individual land survey to issue individual land title to the eligible claimant,” said Masing during the launching of a NCR land survey under Section 18 at Rumah Lugat Barin, Sungai Majau, Mujong, Baleh here recently.
He said up until April 30, some 26,036 individual lots had been successfully surveyed involving 32,376 hectares (80,003 acres).
He added that this year, the government aimed to survey some 718,522 hectares (1.77 mln acres) of individual NCR land.
He advised NCR landowners to cooperate fully with Land and Survey staff to ensure the smooth implementation of Section 6 and Section 18, and to ensure that there would be no dispute over the boundary as well as be present when the survey is done.
Masing said 51,000 hectares of NCR land plus the “pemakai menua” had been surveyed by Kapit Land and Survey Department Kapit of which some 11,000 hectares were for individual land title survey under Section 18.
“Out of the 11,000 hectares, 4,030 hectares will be surveyed under Section 18 for individual title in my longhouse at Rumah Lugat. We have done this survey (perimeter) and “pemakai menua” under Section 6 two years ago.
“The Land and Survey has done it and now they are going for individual land title survey in this area. So, 4,030 hectares would be surveyed under Section 18 commencing after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration,” he explained.
He told landowners that the NCR land survey under Section 6 was not to take away their land but to secure the ownership.
“Once you have secured the ownership, nobody can come in. The timber companies cannot come in, plantation companies cannot come in to develop the land without the permission of the landowners. That is the beauty.”
