Abang Johari (centre) poses with Kampung Kudei Baru residents who received their land titles yesterday. — Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: Native communal land or settlements which have existed before 1958 should be surveyed and acknowledged to preserve their status, says Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said to ensure full ownership on the lots in these settlements, the land should have a grant and cannot be sold or categorised as mixed zones.
“The traditional land that I mean are land or settlements that have existed before 1958, thus the villagers are eligible to get land grants on their residential lots.
“This is part of the state government’s new policy in the effort to preserve and maintain native communal land, and also why the government formed Yayasan Amanah Satok to preserve the status of the land so it stays as native communal land,” he said.
The chief minister, who spoke during a ceremony to hand over land titles to Kampung Kudei Baru residents at Parti Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) headquarters, here yesterday, said to date, as many as 18,000 land titles have been issued to land owners in Kuching alone.
“Through the land survey that has been done under the Traditional Village Land Survey Programme, the perimeter has become clearer to avoid any trespassing and disputes from happening,” he said.
Abang Johari also remarked that the Sarawak government had introduced a new policy for village expansion schemes which would ensure that new village areas would be equipped with complete infrastructure before being inhabited.
“I have changed the policy so that these new villages would have a concrete drainage system, proper roads, electricity and water supply, and these costs will be borne by the state government. In fact, the price for the new village lot (land premium) is cheap, which is only RM2,500.
“Infrastructure, we (state government) will arrange – concrete drainage, electricity, water supply, roads, all this the state government will pay. The residents only need to buy the house,” he added.
Yesterday’s ceremony saw 59 land titles handed over to Kampung Kudei Baru residents under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code. The land titles were on top of the 283 land titles previously handed over on March 16, 2016.
Also present at the handing-over ceremony was Land and Survey Department state director Abdullah Julaihi.