SIBU: Sibu MP Oscar Ling calls upon the Sarawak government to come up with an option of either converting the status of agricultural land to residential land to allow more houses to be built on such land, or ‘something else’.
He said the move would help mitigate problems encountered by owners of agricultural land when renewing their land titles.
Oscar Ling
“This is a pressing issue that has put many owners of agricultural land in a quandary.
“Hopefully, the state government would come out with such an option so that owners of agricultural land could have a choice; hence finding a solution for them,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Under the current law, only one house is allowed to be built on an agricultural land, while more than one house could be built on residential land.
However, many owners of agricultural land have built more than one house on their land, making it difficult for them to renew the land title upon expiry.
Ling said the majority of agricultural land owners inherited the land from their ancestors for residential purposes.
“The majority of them are from the middle or lower income groups, and many could not afford to buy new houses and would prefer to build their own houses on the (agricultural) land to save costs and avoid other expenses,” he said.
He said there were many such cases in the west bank of Rajang River, or even in the semi and urban areas of Sibu town proper.
Ling said he recently came across an agricultural land owner at Jalan Oya, whose land title would expire in 2028.
“He already has several houses built on the land. When he went to renew the title, it was rejected by the Land and Survey Department,” he said.
Ling said the owner was worried as this would mean demolition of the houses built on the land, except one – should he wish to get the land title renewed.
‘That would be very cruel and heartless,” he added.
Ling said owners of agricultural land were willing to pay the renewal charges for the land title if given a chance, and the onus would fall upon the government to come up with an optional package.