Willie (second left) presents a mock key to Kenny (second right) and Karen while Habeed (left) looks on.
KUCHING: The Sarawak government is urged to sincerely look into ways to help those with Native Customary Right (NCR) land near traditional villages to apply for the Rumah Mesra Rakyat (RMR) scheme from Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB).
Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin believed that many people were interested to apply for the RMR scheme but could not do so because their land in the villages did not have titles or grants.
“I was made to understand that one of the main criteria for approval is that the applicants must have land title or grant or temporary occupation licence (TOL) from the Sarawak Land and Survey Department.
“I thus appeal to the Sarawak government to look into this matter by speeding up the issuance of titles to NCR land owners in villages throughout Sarawak,” he said when presenting keys to two successful RMR scheme applicants at Kampung Seratau, Mile 15, Kuching-Serian Road near here yesterday.
SPNB Sarawak public relations officer Wan Habeed Alli was also present.
Willie said there were so many clear-cut cases; solid evidence of the people’s presence in the villages even before 1958.
He said there was no reason for the Sarawak government not to issue land titles to land lots owned by the people for over a century.
“It cannot be denied that many people in Sarawak who live in the villages have problems in applying for the scheme because of their untitled land.
“By issuing land titles or grants to them, these people can achieve their dreams of having their own decent homes,” he said.
Willie said he would bring this matter up to the Minister of Housing and Local Government, believing the matter could be discussed between the federal and Sarawak governments for a win-win solution, and to achieve the (federal) government’s goal of providing one million affordable homes to Malaysians.
He lauded SPNB Sarawak for successfully implementing the RMR scheme throughout Sarawak, including in Puncak Borneo.
He said SPNB, since 2010, had received 160 applications for RMR scheme from people in Puncak Borneo, of which 81 units had been completed, 14 units still undergoing construction while seven applications still being considered.
The two completed units in Seratau belong to two sisters – Kenny and Karen Protus Ajis.
Work on the houses started in 2018 and were completed this month.