BACKBENCHER Liwan Lagang (Belaga – BN) yesterday called for a Resettlement Ordinance to be enacted as soon as possible to overcome the problems of resettlement programmes in the state.
He said this was because the state was experiencing massive infrastructure and land development and many of these projects entailed the affected population to be resettled.
He pointed out that currently there was no specific agency responsible for resettlement programmes in the state.
“With the implementation of SCORE (Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy) the challenges will not get easier and hence there is a need to establish a resettlement unit either in the State Planning Unit (SPU) or the Natural Resources Environment Board (NREB).
“The proposed resettlement unit will be tasked to formulate comprehensive resettlement guidelines which should be in line with the international standard.”
“It will also provide continuity and professionalism in dealing with these critical and sensitive issues,” he said when delivering his speech to second the motion of appreciation on the royal address by the Head of State during the opening of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting on Tuesday.