KOTA SAMARAHAN: 727 recipients in Samarahan Division have benefited from the presentation of Native Communal Reserve Gazettes, land titles and land acquisition compensation totalling RM5.26 million, strengthening land ownership security and supporting the socioeconomic development of local communities.

The presentation was officiated by Sarawak Deputy Premier and Second Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan at the Kota Samarahan Civic Centre on Wednesday.

Of the total, 18 individuals received Native Communal Reserve gazettes under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code, while 622 recipients received land titles under Section 18, and another 33 under Section 13 of the same legislation.

In addition, 73 compensation cheques totalling RM5,256,513.30 were presented to 54 recipients involving two land acquisition projects for development purposes.

Samarahan Division Land and Survey Superintendent Ahmad Raslan Yaiyah said the presentation reflects the Sarawak Government's continued commitment to accelerating land surveys, gazettement and the issuance of land titles to the people.

According to him, as of 11 November 2026, a total of 23,839.69 hectares of land in Samarahan Division had been surveyed under the New Native Customary Rights (NCR) Land Survey Initiative pursuant to Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code, of which 11,044.93 hectares had been gazetted.

Under Phase 2 of the same initiative, pursuant to Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code, a total of 3,440 individual lots covering 3,288.41 hectares had been surveyed across the division.

At the ceremony, 11 gazettes under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code were also presented, involving community settlements in Samarahan Division.

Meanwhile, the presentation of land titles under Section 18 involved seven villages covering a total area of approximately 466.75 hectares or 1,153.36 acres.

The villages were Kampung Mang, Kampung Sampun Tebun, Kampung Tanjung Pedada, Kampung Semera, Kampung Stok, Kampung Nangka and Kampung Tebelu.

Under Section 13 of the Sarawak Land Code, a total of 39 land titles were presented to 24 recipients in Kampung Moyan Laut.

In a related development, Ahmad Raslan said 52 land acquisition projects had been recorded in Samarahan Division, comprising four Federal Government projects and 48 Sarawak Government projects.

He said that of the total allocation of RM106.38 million for the implementation of these projects, RM80.06 million had been spent, with overall physical progress reaching 80.96 per cent.

For the compensation presented at the ceremony, 28 cheques totalling approximately RM4.87 million were handed over to 12 recipients for the Samarahan Integrated Administrative Centre (IAC) Project.

Another 45 cheques worth RM386,276.90 were presented to 42 recipients for the Kampung Sageng Riverbank Erosion Protection Project.

Also present were Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development Sarawak Datu Abdullah Julaihi, Deputy Director of the Sarawak State Development Office Wan Fadillah Wan Ahmad, Deputy Director of the Land and Survey Department Sarawak Sr Rozlan Putit and Samarahan Division Resident Mohamad Irwan Bahari Bujang. -UKASnews