Sabah to abolish communal land titles by year-end

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 8 — Sabah’s controversial communal land titles will soon be abolished to make way for individual native titles, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

The land titles were introduced during Barisan Nasional’s time.

Shafie said that there are more details to be ironed out but the move, promised in Parti Warisan Sabah’s election manifesto, will be implemented as soon as possible, and likely by this year.

“I will explain more, in detail, soon, when the 100 days are up,” he said during a Press conference here.

During former chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman’s administration, the concept of the communal titles was mooted with the primary motive of preventing individuals from selling their land to “outsiders”.

Some 96 communal titles were issued, totalling 152,268 acres to 13,789 beneficiaries in 15 districts in Sabah since 2010.

However, about 51 communal titles were placed under joint ventures with state and private companies for agriculture development, causing some dissatisfaction among the people, who claimed that their native customary rights (NCR) to ancestral land had been diluted to just being beneficiaries under a communal title.

However, in the new system, joint venture arrangements can still be made but are subjected to new terms and conditions, to be re-negotiated.

Shafie said that to safeguard the land, individual native titles cannot be charged, transferred or assigned to a new party, with the exception of the owner’s children.

“The individual native titles also cannot be dealt with through the power-of-attorney, this has happened before causing some complications when the title holder passes away. These measures are to protect the land owner,” he said.

Shafie said the move was necessary because native land belonged to the people who should have rights to the land.

“This is better for the people. Those who have it already will have individual titles issued to them. We want to make sure those who are deserving will also get their ancestral land; some of them have been applying and waiting for over 20 years.