Azmin’s ‘nonsensical’ promise to return native land misleading — Naroden
KUCHING: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice president Azmin Ali, who is vying for the party’s number two position, was ticked off by a state assistant minister for making ‘nonsensical statement’ on native customary land.
The Gombak MP had told a gathering at Rumah Rangong in Ulu Niah near Miri last Saturday of PKR’s promise to the people of Sarawak that their land would be returned to them if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) governs the state.
But according to Assistant Minister of Planning and Resource Management, Mohd Naroden Majais, there is no question of returning native customary rights land (NCL) to the people of Sarawak as the present government never took any land from the natives.
“How can you return something that you never took away? Clearly the PKR’s vice president’s promise is a nonsensical statement and a political gimmick to mislead the people,” Naroden said.
“The government is confident that the people will not be easily taken in by empty promises made by those who have yet to prove their capability in improving the well-being of the people, particularly the rural folks.
‘Govt can help resolve problems faced by rural people’
“With the implementation of the land initiative, survey and issuance of land title, it has been proven that the government can help resolve problems faced by the rural people with regards to native customary land, and at the same time, ensure continuous rural development,” said Naroden in a press statement faxed to the local media yesterday.
He pointed out that all this while, the government has always recognised NCL and there are lawful methods under Section 5 of the Land Code of creating such land.
He also said existing NCL are also protected under Section 15 of the Land Code which states that “such land shall not be alienated or be used for a public purpose until all customary rights have been surrendered or terminated or provision for compensating the persons entitled thereto have been made”’.
“The issuance of Provisional Leases for Large-Scale Plantations, License for Planted Forests and Timber License always excludes native customary land.
“Where native customary land are acquired by the government for development projects, there are provisions under Section 5(3) and (4) of the Land Code for the payment of adequate compensation,” said Naroden who is also Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department and assistant treasurer of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).
On the new initiative, he said the government is carrying out perimeter survey of native customary land throughout the state for eventual gazettal as Native Communal Reserves.
The next stage of this initiative, he pointed out, is the survey of individual lots for issuance of Section 18 titles.
“This task requires cooperation from the locals to identify the boundaries of their individual lots before the surveyors from the Land and Survey Department can move,” he said.
On a related matter, he said the Land and Survey Department is also embarking on a continuous exercise to survey and issue land titles to land within traditional kampung (villages). He revealed that to date, about 35,990 titles have been issued under this programme which is ongoing.
“The government not only recognises native customary land but also vigorously tries to develop it through the NCR Land Development Concept which is for the economic well-being of the rakyat (people),” he said.
source: borneo post
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