NCR survey: ‘State cheating natives’

Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code under which surveyed NCR lands are being classified has brought the government's 'real intention' to light.

KUCHING: The Sarawak government, which is already under heavy fire over its land policies, has been accused of “hoodwinking” poor, ignorant natives with the perimeter survey procedure which aims to demarcate native customary rights (NCR) property.

Krian state assemblyman Ali Biju has questioned the state government’s real intention of carrying out the perimeter survey of NCR lands.

“On the surface, perimeter survey looks like the government is pretending to solve NCR problems, but in reality it is the government which is creating problems in the first place.

“Is this what Barisan Nasional is all about: hoodwinking the poor natives and robbing them of their ancestral lands in the name of development?” asked Ali.

Ali, who is also state PKR vice-chairman, was commenting on a news report regarding NCR lands at Entebu, Selambung and Bajau Saratok covering an area of 1,024.8 hectares that have been declared as communal reserve land under Section 6 of the Land Code effective from April 7, 2011.

The Section 6 status was granted to the natives in these areas after the perimeter survey was conducted earlier this year on these lands.

Ali said the government’s decision to classify these NCR plots under Section 6 of the Land Code would eventually work against the native communities.

“The natives of Entebu, Selambung and Bajau Saratok must be enlightened on the practical aspect of Section 6.

“They must be educated on the real worth of the land as communal reserve land as compared to a titled land under Section 18 of the Land Code.

“The danger of Section 6, which many native NCR landowners are not aware of, is that once a notice is issued under Section 6, the title issued is under the name of the community, not individual landowners.

“And effectively the land is held in trust for the government by the community.

“Once this happens, this gives the government the right to extinguish the rights of the landowners at any time and then pay them peanuts as compensation.

“This effectively downgrades NCR status,” Ali said.

Legitimate rights

While questioning the extent of the Section 6 clause, he also asked if this now meant that the government could issue “provisional licences at its whims”.

Directing his questions at state Land Minister James Masing, Ali asked: “How about the rest of the much bigger NCR lands adjacent to Entebu, Selambung and Bajau Saratok, which are outside the communal reserve land that have just undergone the perimeter survey?

“Can the native landowners now feel relieved thinking their NCR lands are outside this perimeter survey?

“Or are these state lands by virtue of the perimeter survey?

“Can provisional licences be issued by the government at its whims and fancies?”

“The rural folk of Krian who have legitimate rights over their lands demand answers, and it is my duty as their representative to demand these answers from the ruling government.”

Just before the state election in April, the federal government allocated RM20 million to carry out the perimeter survey of NCR land, and another RM60 million more was added during election time.

NCR land issues have always been “hot political potatoes” during election times.