Dr Sim (seated, middle) speaking at the press conference at SUPP Batu Kawa service centre. Also seen are SUPP Batu Kawa branch deputy chairman Lim Ah Ted (seated, second left) and Temenggong Datuk Tan Joo Phoi (seated, second right), political secretary to the Chief Minister, Tan Kai (back row, right), villages heads and others.
KUCHING: Eligible landowners who have yet to apply for land premium refund are urged to do so by Dec 31, said Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP)’s president Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
Dr Sim, who is Housing and Local Government Minister, said the land premium application is an initiative by the Sarawak government for the resettlement scheme (SPS) or village expansion scheme (SPK) to assist urban poor in mitigating their costs of living.
“I urge those entitled for the refund but yet to applied for it to come forward to any of our service centres and we will assist you,” said Dr Sim during a press conference at SUPP Batu Kawa Service Centre here today,
Dr Sim disclosed that 467 landowners in Batu Kawa have received their refund so far, while another 161 landowners in the same area, 97 landowners in Stampin and 33 landowners in Sungai Apong have yet to submit their application.
During the recently concluded State Legislative Assembly sitting, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said the deadline for the land premium refund applications had been extended to Dec 31 from Oct 31 because a total of 1,985 land lots entitled for the refund in Sarawak had not come forward to apply for the refund.
The payable land premium by landowners in SPS or SPK is capped at RM2,500 by the state government and it could be paid in instalments over 10 years.
Entitled landowners who wish to apply for the land premium refunds can bring along copies of their personal identification cards (MyKad), copies of letter of probate and identification card of land administrator if the original landowners have passed away, copies of payment receipts or any payment-related documents, copies of the first page of bank account book and copies of land title to any SUPP service centres.
All copies should be prepared in three sets.
Following the state government decision to reduce land premium for all resettlement and village extension schemes, Chief Minister Abang Johari Tun Openg said in September 2018 that RM43.4 million has been allocated for the refund payment of 7,174 land titles.