SARIKEI:  Native Customary Rights (NCR) land owners should support the government’s perimeter survey initiative as it is meant to benefit them.

Assistant Minister In the Chief Minister’s Office (Promotion of Technical Education) Datu Len Talif Salleh said the whole process, from surveying to getting gazetted as communal reserved land and issuance of titles for Individual plots, was free for the participants.

No other place in the world offers such a privilege,” he said at the Divisional Land and Survey Office here yesterday to present gazettes to Individuals whose NCR land had been gazetted as communal reserved land and Temporary Occupational Licence (TOL) to several less fortunate people.

The recipients of the gazettes were Malays and Ibans from Loba Bunut Laut, while the TOL recipients were from Meradong District.

Len Talif said those with land titles no longer had to worry about land disputes or their property encroached.

He advised these NCR land owners to venture into commercial agriculture as the government planned to transform Sarikei into the ‘Food Basket of Sarawak’ to, among others, meet the demand of the Tanjung Manis Halal Hub.

Meanwhile, Divisional Land Superintendent Ngu Tai Kong said his office had thus far issued gazettes for nine lots of NCR land that had been perimeter surveyed.

Apart from those for Loba Bunut Laut yesterday, eight had been presented in the last three years.

Since 2010, 22 areas here totaling about 119,622 ha of NCR land were approved for perimeter survey, and work on 20 of these areas had been completed.

“The perimeter survey for the remaining two areas- in Melurun and Ulu Sarikei - is expected to be completed by year end.”

Also present were representative from the Resident Office Badjuri Bidin and Meradong District Office, Frank Lani.

(Source:  The Borneo Post, 20 September 2014)