KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman has welcomed the initiative taken by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to undertake a study of issues related to Native Customary Land Rights (NCR).
He said the effort made by the commission would provide a different but no less important perspective on the matter, and the State Government would sincerely like to hear the feedback from the findings of the study.
He said the Government is open to genuine feedback, constructive criticisms and ideas that would improve upon its initiative to enable the people, especially in the interior, to communally own land and develop a sustainable livelihood.
“I wish to stress here that the Government has always put the interest of the people as its priority when introducing any concept. As a government that was chosen by the rakyat, rest assured that our priority is always the well-being of the people,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Musa, who is also Finance Minister, said he has explained a number of times the reasons behind the introduction of the communal title.
The main reason for the need to introduce communal title is because the state faces a shortage of land to be given individually, he said.
He said the Government needs to protect the welfare of future generations and the concept of awarding communal land titles helps to moderate the selling of native lands while safeguarding the inheritance of future generations.
“We do not want a situation where our children would end up being landless in their own state,” he said.
If the claims that the concept of giving out communal land titles was vague to some were true, the Government via its relevant departments would conduct sessions in the relevant areas to explain to the people the initiative, including eligibility and its implementation, Musa said.
On Suhakam’s claims that village heads and JKKK chiefs, whose questions were left unanswered, could not provide the correct information to the people, he said it does not mean the initiative is bad or will not succeed in its objectives.
“It just means most new initiatives will have hiccups in the beginning but with time and fine tuning, they will achieve their intended objective,” he said.
Musa said nonetheless the State Government would study Suhakam’s report on the communal title concept and issues related to NCR.
He said based on the findings from the report, the Government would be able to fine-tune the procedures pertaining to communal titles and the processing of NCR claims where applicable.
The report may help the Government establish a more systematic approach in establishing the legitimacy of NCR land and the process of giving land to the landless, he said.
“I have said a number of times before that I can’t do this job as Chief Minister and to develop Sabah alone. I need my colleagues in the cabinet, my friends in the BN, the civil service, the private sector and NGOs as well as parliament-appointed commission like Suhakam. I need everyone’s cooperation and I am willing to listen,” he said.
Musa said the objective of Suhakam’s efforts on the issue of communal land titles and NCR should complement the government’s effort to help the people improve their quality of life.
“We would also like to stress that land issues should not be confined to NCR claims only but to all Sabahans so that no one will be left out. After all, the ultimate objective of granting land is to ensure that we look after the interest of the people in the state so that no Sabahan is left out of the development process,” he said.