KUCHING: Clarity is being sought on how state land in Sabah and Sarawak which had been handed over to the federal government but remain undeveloped are to be handed back to both states.
The Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change has therefore been asked to finalise the mechanism to be used over such state land in Sabah and Sarawak.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the ministry must finalise the matter quickly with the respective state governments.
“Because presently, the policy is that any state land that has been handed over to the federal government but hasn’t been developed within five years must be handed back to the state government.
“Unless there is a justification to say why the state land cannot be handed back to Sabah and Sarawak governments,” he said after a gathering with Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Petra Jaya youths at a local eatery in Jalan Matang yesterday (Apr 1) evening.
Fadillah, who is also Petra Jaya MP, said that the mechanism needed to be finalised on how the land would be handed back to the state government.
“Either it is handed back with the premium price that has been paid or there is a need to pay for the land based on what has been developed on the land.
“Therefore, this requires discussion between the federal and state government,” he said.
Fadillah added there was still a lot of land in Sarawak handed over to the federal government but which had not been developed.
“We (federal government) have identified the land whereby there are three which will be handed back to Sarawak and two to Sabah.
“As such, what we want now is for the ministry to finalise what pieces of land can be returned to the state governments and what land is still needed,” he said.
