LUNDU: The Land and Survey Department has successfully surveyed a total of 1.2 million hectares of Native Customary Rights (NCR) land as of last month through the new initiative under the NCR land survey programme since 2010.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan announced that more than 875,000 hectares of the surveyed land had been gazetted.
These initiatives aim to expedite NCR land survey work, considering the vast and scattered nature of NCR areas and are conducted in two phases.
The first phase involves perimeter survey and gazettement under Section 6 of the State Land Code as the Bumiputera Communal Reserve (Agriculture).
In the second phase, individual lot measurements and the issuance of land ownership titles under Section 18 of the same Code will be implemented.
“I have directed the Land and Survey Department not to focus on just one area but to be done comprehensively involving the entire state.
“So far, we have successfully surveyed approximately 1.2 million hectares of NCR lands through this new initiative until last month and gazetted more than 875,000 hectares of land.”
Awang Tengah made these remarks during his speech at the land title presentation ceremony under Section 18 of the State Land Code and the Bumiputera Communal Reserve Gazette under Section 6 of the State Land Code for Lundu and Sematan Districts at Lundu Community Hall here today (Nov 16).
He noted that the survey work is not done arbitrarily; instead, the Land and Survey Department engages with those involved.
“They will discuss and hold dialogues with them. Sometimes, there are parties demanding larger areas than they should, and we explain through existing evidence.
“With evidence aligning with the application, then we will accept it. So, we don’t conduct this survey work haphazardly; instead, we engage in discussions first.”
Awang Tengah also assured that survey work is an ongoing task and called on community leaders and tribal chiefs (KMKK), elected representatives to cooperate with the department to complete land measurement work.
“This is the commitment of the Sarawak government. It is the responsibility of KMKKs and elected representatives to collaborate with the Land and Survey Department to ensure land measurement in any village is also completed.”
