Over 2 mln acres gazetted in NCR land surveys in Sarawak

Awang Tengah (sixth left) receives a memento after presenting NCR land titles for Lundu and Sematan Districts at Lundu Community Hall today.

KUCHING, Nov 16: Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan announced that the Sarawak Land and Survey Department has successfully conducted a perimeter survey on approximately 1,118,851 hectares (2.76 million acres) of Native Customary Right (NCR) land in Sarawak.

As of Oct 31 this year, 867,516 hectares (2.14 million acres) have been gazetted.

Awang Tengah clarified that NCR land surveys are initiated upon receiving applications from claimants, with approvals contingent on legislative adherence and valid evidence.

“If disputes persist or are undergoing trials, survey work will not proceed unless the case is withdrawn. Applicants must reapply for the NCR land survey in such cases,” he explained.

Highlighting the success of the new NCR measurement programme, Awang Tengah presented NCR land titles under Section 18 and Communal Gazette Reserve under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code (KTN) for Lundu and Sematan Districts at the Lundu Community Hall.

Addressing past accusations of government land confiscation through Section 6 of KTN, he emphasised the validity of the NCR Communal Reserve Gazette, citing instances where communities retained their gazetted areas.

As of Oct 31, 77,954 individual lots covering 94,979 hectares (234,698 acres) have been successfully measured.

Out of these, 28,447 lots have received land titles under Section 18 of KTN, spanning 37,422 hectares (92,471 acres).

“This includes 466 land titles under Section 18 of the KTN to be handed over to 377 recipients in Kpg Bangeng and Batu, Kpg Siru Dayak, and Kpg Gerunggang,” he added. — DayakDaily