‘Over a million hectares of NCR land in Sarawak surveyed under new initiative since 2010’

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Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan

KUCHING (Oct 17): The Land and Survey Department has conducted survey over 1,005,765 hectares (2.48 million acres) of Native Customary Rights (NCR) land since 2010, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

According to him, 778,439 hectares (1.92 million acres) of the total hectarage surveyed had been gazetted.

This, he added, showed the vast difference between the survey output through the new initiative under the NCR land survey programme (2010 up to present), and that recorded during the previous programme that had been run since 1960.

“In the preceding 50 years since 1960, the output using the old survey method was not encouraging – only about 260,000 hectares (642,460 acres) of NCR land had been surveyed.

“This meant that on average, only 5,200 hectares of NCR land were measured per year, despite the demand to measure NCR land being so high.

“That’s why the state government introduced the new initiative in 2010. This programme is being done in two stages – the first being the perimeter survey and gazettement under Section 6 of Sarawak Land Code as Bumiputera Communal Reserve (Agriculture); and the second stage involving measurements of individual lots and the issuance of land ownership under Section 18 of the same Code,” said Awang Tengah in his speech prior to presentation of the documents on Bumiputera Communal Reserve Gazette under Section 6 of Sarawak Land Code and land ownership under Section 18 of the same Code (Agriculture and Residential) at Gedong in Simunjan yesterday.

The Bumiputera Communal Reserve Gazette documents were meant for seven recipients from Kampung Gumpey and Kampung Gedong, while the land ownership titles were for five recipients from Kampung Gedong.

A total of 101 land ownership titles would be handed over to 90 recipients after the event to ensure compliance with Covid-19’s standard operating procedures (SOP), said Awang Tengah, who is also Second Minister of Urban Development and Resources Sarawak.

Adding on, he said the survey would only be carried out after obtaining the consent and support from the land claimants involved.

“If they do not want their land (to undergo) perimeter survey, the works would not be carried out.

“For cases that are still in dispute and under trial in court, the surveying works would also not be carried out – unless such cases have been resolved or withdrawn by those involved.

“However, if you want to participate in the NCR land survey programme’s new initiative again, a new application must be submitted,” he pointed out.