Project participants waiting for the arrival of guests inside the Nanga Sekuau multipurpose hall.
SELANGAU: Longhouse folk are advised to be wary of offers by companies or individuals to develop their native customary rights (NCR) land through joint venture undertakings.
Tamin assemblyman Christopher Gira Sambang said it is because some of those offering to do so may not have honest intentions.
“Many companies applied to the state government to develop NCR land but some are not fortunate in their joint ventures whereby the projects failed.
“We do not know the reasons of the projects’ failure. It could be caused by financial problems or it was deliberately made to fail because they already extracted the timber in the area they wanted,” he said during the ‘Nanga Sekuau Agropolitan Plantation Agreement and Deed of Trust Letters’ signing ceremony recently.
Assistant Minister of Agriculture Malcolm Mussen Lamoh was the guest-of-honour at the function held at Nanga Sekuau Resettlement Scheme here.
The signing ceremony was between 517 participants of the agropolitan project and the Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) as trust holder.
Earlier, Gira said perimeter survey work on some 24,000 hectares in Ulu Oya was completed recently.
He hoped the government could develop Ulu Oya which was once home to resettlers at Nanga Sekuau.
The resettlers were forced to leave behind their longhouses, paddy farms and land in Ulu Oya during the time of the communist threat in the 1970s.
“There is no better way to develop rural areas like Ulu Oya than plantation development. I hope the government will support the people to develop their land commercially.
“The Nanga Sekuau Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK) that represents the resettlers have my support if they want to do plantation but it must be agreed to unanimously by all those involved.
“They must be careful if they want to look for their own investors,” he said.
During the function, Gira announced a RM10,000 grant for Sekuau Festival which has been planned by Nanga Sekuau JKKK to be held next month.
Among those present were Nanga Sekuau JKKK chairman Henry Kanyan, Sibu Resident Hii Chang Kee, Penghulu Andrewson Ngalai and political secretary to the Chief Minister Edwin Banta.