Former Bukit Assek rep urges Sarawak govt to amend Land Code for automatic land renewal

Irene Chang

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, July 13: Former Bukit Assek assemblywoman Irene Chang has called on the Sarawak government to review and amend the Sarawak Land Code to provide for automatic land renewals without any renewal premiums, or to convert leasehold lands to freehold lands.

In a press statement today, Chang noted that with increased revenue collected from the State Sales Tax (a cumulative sum of RM15.8 billion from 2019 to 2023), there is no longer a reason for the Sarawak government to continue collecting land tax from its citizens.

“Let this windfall from increased revenue not just be a figure on paper but be translated into visible and tangible benefits for all Sarawakians. It is time that Sarawakians deserve to be acknowledged as true landowners in their own right without any threat of their lands reverting to the government,” she said.

Chang highlighted the discontent among landowners following the reclassification of land categories by the Land and Survey Department in June 2022, which resulted in substantial increases in renewal premiums.

She cited an example of a landowner in Sungai Bidut who was shocked to be asked to pay a premium of RM14,410.00, an increase of 2321.85% from the RM595.00 his neighbor paid for a similar parcel of land in April 2022.

Both parcels of land, which are side by side and roughly the same size, were reclassified from country to suburban lands, leading to the steep rise in premiums.

“This demand for premium before the renewal of title confirms that the Sarawak government practices a regressive land policy. Since the consequence of failing to pay these premiums would cause the lands to revert to the State as state lands, Sarawakians are therefore forever deemed tenants leasing the lands from the State, which is the real owner of all the lands in Sarawak,” she added. — DayakDaily