Opposition sings different ‘survey of NCR land’ tune — Len

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OPPOSITION members, now part of Pakatan Harapan federal government, were ticked off for singing a different tune regarding perimeter survey of native customary rights (NCR) land.

Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datu Len Talif Salleh said he found it surprising that an opposition member recently said NCR land recognition was more important than its survey, as if to justify PH federal government’s action to stop allocating funds for NCR perimeter survey.

Datu Len Talif Salleh

He said the same opposition member had in fact in a news report in a national daily eight years ago sang praises of efforts to do the perimeter survey of NCR land.

“The previous government under Barisan Nasional had at least shown some compassion by allocating more than RM160 million in the last eight years for the NCR perimeter survey.

“But the PH government is not allocating any funds at all for this purpose,” he said in his reply to Wilson Nyabong (PRS – Pelagus) yesterday.

Len said that survey of land was needed for land ownership registration under the Torrens system in line with practice stated under the State Land Code.

He also explained this was done in line with the Sarawak (Alteration in Boundaries) Order in Council 1954, made at Buckingham Palace in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II.

“Up to today, we in Sarawak still hold strong to this Order,” he said.

He also informed the august House that a total of 26,569ha of NCR land in Kapit Division had been approved for individual lot survey as of Oct 31 this year.

From the figure, 1,682ha have been surveyed with 120ha issued with titles under Section 18 of the State Land Code.

He also mentioned that 51,405ha of land in Kapit Division had been gazetted as Bumiputera Communal Reserve (Agriculture) as of Sept 30.

“NCR land which have been gazetted, or land categorised as Alienated Land and Provisional Lease, will be excluded from Licence for Planted Forests (LPF),” he said.