Be wary of bogus surveyors

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Dept: Con men impersonating Land and Survey officers, poisoning people’s minds regarding land issues

Alfian Bawi

KAPIT: Con men are impersonating Land and Survey Department officers in trying to cheat rural folk waiting for their native customary land (NCL) to be surveyed.

Kapit Land and Survey Department superintendent Alfian Bawi warned locals to be on the lookout for bogus surveyors.

He said they were taking advantage of the government’s effort to carry out perimeter surveys of native customary land and would later try to manipulate the people using land issues.

He cited a case at Sungai Melinau, Mujong in Baleh recently, where a group of unknown people impersonated the department’s surveyors to carry out a survey of native customary land and later tried to poison the people’s minds regarding land issues.

“The local people should be on the lookout and watchful of those groups of unidentified people who go around impersonating Land and Survey officers and surveyors on the pretext of surveying NCLs.

“If these groups of people come to their longhouses on the pretext of surveying their land, they should request for their identification cards and also request them to produce a letter from the department approving the survey of their native customary land,” he said.

Alfian explained that the department did not carry out surveys of native customary land without prior arrangements.

“Before the department carries out a survey, we inform the people in the area and hold a dialogue well before hand with them while at the same time issuing letters to the village chiefs on the proposed survey work in their respective areas. Also, the department never asks for payment for surveying the land,” he stressed.

He advised villagers who come across such groups to get the names of those concerned and take photographs of them before proceeding to lodge a police report.

The first perimeter survey of native customary land under Phase 1 of the New NCR Land Initiative in the Kapit District involved Rumah Achan, Melukun last September.

A total of 93 areas have been identified for surveying in the district involving an area of over 300 acres.

In Song District, the first perimeter survey was at Sungai Sipan/Sesawa, Batang Rajang.