Musa (at centre with a yellow cap) presenting the communal land title to Dr Chacho (front row at sixth left) on behalf of the beneficiaries of the land lots. Also in the picture are Yahya (fourth right), Ramli (fifth left), Nasir (seconnd right) and Yusof (third right) and other leaders.
SEMPORNA: After more than 30 years of waiting, 745 land settlers in Mount Pock and Nagos here finally received their communal land titles which were handed to them yesterday by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.
The historic occasion took place at the Semporna community hall which saw 2,096 hectares of land in total (1,388 hectares in Mount Pock and 708 hectares in Nagos) given to them.
The settlers in Mount Pock received eight acres of land each and in Nagos, five acres each.
In his speech at the event, Musa said the giving of the communal land titles was proof of the state government’s impartiality towards any Sabah resident when it involved the issue of land and instead, the government always strived to meet the people’s wants in a fair manner.
“It is only an allegation by some irresponsible quarters that we only give titles for land in the interior areas of Keningau, Pensiangan and Nabawan.
“But we actually try to give land titles in all areas of Sabah, including Semporna, but it may take some time here as the process can be long,” he said.
Musa, who made a working visit to the district yesterday, said he was very happy with the response from the community as the big turnout clearly showed the strong support of the Semporna people for the Barisan Nasional leadership.
“Today, I will hand communal land titles to the people of Semporna which they have waited for a long time. After discussing with the leaders here as to who should be eligible to receive these lands, and after it has been completed, a total of more than 2,000 acres at Mount Pock and Tanjung Nagos have been handed to the nearly 1,000 family heads,” he said.
“It is obviously well accepted by the people and shows that we govern Sabah well as we never discriminate against local areas or districts. For me as the Chief Minister, all districts are the same, we help the people wherever they are. I have also launched a new sports complex for Semporna, which is also welcomed by the people,” he said.
The Chief Minister advised the recipients of land titles not to sell their land but to work the land to generate income and to benefit their future generations.
He also called on the Semporna people to support the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as Sabah is still lagging behind and needs allocations for developments.
Meanwhile, Musa said the state government is committed to develop and prioritise projects that are required by the people in Semporna apart from constructing the Pulau Bum-Bum bridge.
He said the matter had been decided in the state cabinet meeting to give way to development projects that were needed by the people.
“As regards to this bridge, I do not say it cannot be built but the district officer says it costs RM600 million and many more development projects are needed by the people in Semporna, namely roads, sewege system, water supply and bus terminal that are more important than this bridge,” he said
According to Musa, in Semporna there were other projects that could be developed and which needed to be jointly approved by the federal and state governments.
Among those present at the ceremony were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Haji Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titingan, Assistant Minister of Finance, Datuk Ramli Marhaban, Kalabakan member of parliament Datuk Ghapur Salleh, State assemblymen Datuk Nasir Tun Sakaran (Senalang), Datuk Jaujan Sambakong (Sulabayan), Datuk Nilwan Kaban (Kunak) and Datuk Yusof Apdal (Lahad Datu).
Musa also officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the new sports complex in Semporna. He was later briefed by Semporna district officer Dr Chacho Bullah on the developments in the district.
Sappari Osman, 52, representing yesterday’s recipients, said they were grateful and thanked the state government and leaders who were concerned about their plight and worked at helping them own the land.
“Indeed it was difficult to get this land and we had to go through a lot, as the Forestry Department had made it a reserve land to protect it.
“As a result, getting this land had involved a lot of emotions and some feelings were hurt in the process and we would like to apologise. In the end, however, the effort bore fruit,” he said.
The residents had occupied the land in the two areas since the 1970s. However, in 1984, the state government declared the land as forest reserve and since then, the residents had applied to work the land to get out of poverty.