(Seated from left) Abun, Zulhaidah, Joshua, Dr Teo, Abang Zulkifli and Roland join other PKR members in a group photo taken after the press conference.
MIRI (Apr 18): Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak would focus on ‘land agrarian reform’ as its main manifesto in the next state election, said the State Leadership Council (MPN) secretary Joshua Jabeng.
He said PKR was also working with its candidates and campaign teams in highlighting a number of key issues during campaigning, especially the Native Customary Rights (NCR) issue that remained as a struggle among the natives here.
“The disputes between NCR landowners and permanent land-holders have been going on for years. Despite over 400 cases now being logged in court, not a single one has come to any acceptable conclusion.
“It is also important to note that not a single inch of NCR land has been returned to the native owners,” he said in a press conference here yesterday.
Joshua was confident that the land reform would ‘foretell a positive future for the natives’, focusing on commercial agriculture development over vast areas of rural land – home to the majority of the native folk.
He said the concept behind the ‘agrarian reform’ – to be called ‘Sarawak Economic Land Development Authority (Selda), which he described as ‘a hybrid of sort of the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda)’.
“Felda started in 1957 with 600 landless households comprising 400 Malay, 160 Chinese and 50 Indians families. Each household was given 10 acres to be developed for commercial farming.
“This concept has proven to be one of the most successful agriculture development plans ever.
“Today, Felda covers over two million acres of land, involving 112,000 settlers’ households – all of whom have become landowners, and many have become successful entrepreneurs and business-owners.
“Should PKR to be the next to helm the (state) government, we would adopt and implement Felda’s module – starting with 200,000 acres of land involving 20,000 households.
“It would be a 15-year scheme for commercial agriculture development because Sarawak’s climate allows planting and harvesting all year long,” said Joshua.
He regarded Selda as ‘a vision of total eradication of poverty, raising the people’s standard of living, the transformation of rural Sarawak, vibrant decentralised commercial centres, cottage industries, reforestation programmes, eco-tourism, food production and also export surpluses.
Miri MP Dr Michael Teo who is also PKR national vice-president, PKR MPN Sarawak deputy chairman Abang Zulkifli Abang Engkeh and vice-chairmen Roland Engan, Sarawak PKR Women deputy chief Zulhaidah Suboh, and PKR Sarawak information chief Abun Sui, were also present at the press conference.
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