Survey of three NCR land areas in Jepak stalled since 2012 after claimants failed to attend dialogue sessions

Datuk Len Talif Salleh addressing the question-and-answer session during the Sarawak Legislative Assembly Sitting on May 15, 2026. Photo credit: Sarawak Information Department

By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, May 15: Survey works involving three Native Customary Rights (NCR) land areas in Jepak have remained stalled for over a decade after village chiefs and land claimants failed to attend dialogue sessions with the authorities.

Deputy Minister for Urban Planning Land Administration and Environment Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the affected areas — Areas B, C and D at KM15 Jalan Ulu Sebauh — cover about 175 hectares (432 acres) and are among 11 areas approved for perimeter surveying under the New Initiative NCR Land Measurement Programme.

“However, surveying works for the three areas could not commence as the Tuai Rumah and land claimants did not turn up during a roundtable dialogue session held in 2012.

“No feedback has been received from the land claimants despite various efforts made by the Bintulu Land and Survey Department, including contacting them through letters, phone calls, and announcements over local radio stations,” he told the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) today.

He was responding to a question from Iskandar Turkee (GPS-Jepak), who asked on the status of NCR and village land gazettement in the constituency, the total area gazetted so far, and measures taken by the government to expedite land surveying and ownership recognition.

Len Talif said that as of April 30, 2026, a total of 11 areas within Jepak covering approximately 3,372 hectares (8,333 acres) had been approved for perimeter surveying.

Of the total, eight areas spanning 2,984 hectares (7,373 acres) have completed surveying and have been gazetted as Bumiputera Communal Reserve (Agriculture) under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code.

To accelerate NCR land surveying statewide, he said the Sarawak government had approved the recruitment of 467 personnel of various categories in the Land and Survey Department, involving an additional annual expenditure of RM30 million.

“The services of private surveyors are also being utilised to strengthen the department’s surveying capacity,” he added.

Len Talif also said the department is conducting studies and research to identify more suitable and efficient surveying methods and technologies to speed up fieldwork without compromising the accuracy and quality of land data collected.

However, he stressed that the success of NCR land surveying efforts depends heavily on the cooperation of land claimants themselves.

“They must be present during field surveys, clearly mark the boundaries of their land, and avoid disputes in making claims so that the surveying process can proceed smoothly,” he said.

Meanwhile, in response to a supplementary question, Len Talif revealed that four areas covering 1,736 hectares (4,290 acres) in Jepak are currently undergoing individual lot measurements under the programme.

“So far, 347 hectares (857 acres) involving 375 lots have been fully measured, while the remaining 1,389 hectares (3,432 acres) are still in the process of measurement.

“In addition, 90 lots have been registered with land titles under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code,” he said.

On another supplementary question regarding cases where original land claimants had passed away before land titles were issued, he clarified that land titles would still be issued in the claimant’s name, with heirs able to manage inheritance matters through the probate process. — DayakDaily