Opar Assemblyman Urges Faster Rural Land Surveys, Issuance Of Land Titles
KUCHING: The Sarawak Land and Survey Department has been urged to implement a more comprehensive and progressive action plan to expedite land surveying and title issuance in rural areas, particularly in the Opar constituency.
Opar Assemblyman Billy Sujang said several villages in the constituency had undergone land surveying under the Land Documentation Programme through an initiative by the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA), but land titles have yet to be issued.
Among the villages involved are Kampung Judin, Kampung Stungkor Baru and Kampung Tebaro.
He added that other villages surveyed by the Land and Survey Department included Kampung Temaga Dayak, Kampung Temaga Melayu, Kampung Sebako 1, Kampung Sebako 2, Kampung Sebigo Dayak, Kampung Selampit, Kampung Stenggang, Kampung Sepadah, Kampung Pidilam, Kampung Semapu and Kampung Bitokan.
“I hope the Land and Survey Department can come up with a more productive, progressive, comprehensive and organised action plan to accelerate rural land surveying processes,” he said this when debating the Motion of Appreciation on the address delivered by the Sarawak Governor during the 19th Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting on Friday.
Billy also raised concerns over delays in the issuance of land titles involving plantation projects managed by government-linked companies (GLCs) and private estates in Opar, including projects under Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (SALCRA), Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA), FELCRA Berhad and LCDA-PJP Pelita.
He noted that some plantation projects had completed their first planting cycle, yet landowners were still waiting for their land titles despite provisions in the original joint venture agreements.
According to him, 741 local residents involved in the LCDA-PJP Pelita plantation projects in Selampit and Kendaie were only issued a Land Ownership Certification Letter (LOCL) after the 30-year plantation cycle ended.
He urged the relevant agencies to resolve the matter promptly, stressing that land titles are the rightful entitlement of landowners. -UKASnews
