Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan giving a speech at an event to hand out of land titles in the Lambir area, Sarawak, November 30, 2021. — Bernama pic
MIRI, Nov 30 — Owners of native customary rights (NCR) land have been reminded not to fall for the instigation and propaganda of irresponsible parties on the NCR land measurement new initiative undertaken by the Sarawak Department of Land and Survey.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said the aspersion, instigation and propaganda against the programme was only temporary or seasonal, especially with the coming of an election.
“This is the politics of fear targeted at the NCR land owners. These are outsiders who have no claims to the land in the area; they are just talking (but) but not championing the NCR land rights.
“Land owners who fall for the instigation will cause their land not be measured and no guarantee of getting the land title. Eventually, they will be at the losing end,” he said at the handing out of land titles in the Lambir area, here, today.
Awang Tengah, who is also Parti Pesaka Bumiputra (PBB) deputy president, said the land measurement work needed to follow the law and procedure set, and based on the NCR land application approval.
He also said that the measurement work would only be done after being agreed upon and supported by those who made the land claims and if they did not want the perimeters of their land be measured, it would not be carried out.
“For cases that are still being disputed and heard in court, the measuring work will not be carried out except when the cases have been resolved or withdrawn by those involved,” he added.
Awang Tengah said among the commitments of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government in protecting the rights of the genuine NCR land owners based on the law, was speeding up the land measuring process and ensuring that the land owners had the ownership documents, the land had a clear boundary and would not be encroached upon.
“Since 2010 until now, the Sarawak Department of Land and Survey has been able to measure the perimeters of a total of 1,011,566 hectares of land in Sarawak and out of this, 780,203 hectares have been gazetted,” he added.
Awang Tengah also advised the NCR land owners who have received the land titles not to think only of profit by selling their land to a third party, but to work or develop the land to ensure a better future. — Bernama