MIRI, Aug 26 — Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas has hit out at Ba kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian for criticising the state government’s native customary rights (NCR) land survey programme when he and his relatives had benefited from it.
He said at the launch of the NCR land survey for 14 villages in Bario today that Baru has been a vocal critic of the use of Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code in the survey.
Referring to four lots at Trusan land district which were gazetted under Section 6 in 2011 and were issued land titles under Section 18 in 2015, he said: “These lots were all surveyed under Section 6 and later issued titles under the name of Baru Bian and his family.”
Section 6 is applied by the Land and Survey Department to conduct perimeter survey of NCR land for native communal reserves, which would then be gazetted, before the department carries out individual lot surveys under Section 18 for the issuance of land titles.
Uggah added: “I am perplexed by why he (Baru) — despite being so vocal against Section 6 and making all sorts of allegations — together with his family members had accepted this survey method for their NCR land.”
Congratulating the family for becoming legal NCR landowners under the state government’s survey initiative, he hoped Baru, who is also Selangau MP and former Works Minister, would not stop other landowners from benefiting from it.
According to Uggah, the perimeter survey under Section 6 was “18 times faster” compared to the old process of issuing individual NCR land titles.
“Sarawak has 1.5 million hectares of NCR land and 1.396 million has been approved for perimeter survey, with 941,318 hectares already surveyed and 455,568 hectares pending,” he said.
He added that of the 113,272 hectares gazetted, 49,962 hectares had already been surveyed individually and 6,652 titles issued to landowners so far. — Borneo Post
