Beware of private developers out to dupe NCR land owners, Sarawakians told
May 28, 2011
Some private investors have attempted to lure native customary rights (NCR) land owners in Sarawak into agreeing to allow their lands to be developed without the government's knowledge, assistant minister of Land Development Sylvester Entri Muran said on Friday.
He said although they could not provide guarantees, these investors would promise to give good returns, enticing land owners to sign agreements filled with conditions that could not be easily understood.
"Some (of the agreements were) just signed somewhere at coffeeshops or law firms, which is not transparent, yet there are land owners who still believe in it," he said.
He was speaking to reporters after witnessing the handing over of upfront payments totalling RM42,230 to the first 20 land owners participating in the Cipta Sawit Pelita Bok Bakong NCR land development project at Rumah Panjang Pengiran Damit, Bakong, about 150km from Miri.
The project involves the development of about 600 hectares of NCR land for oil palm plantation this year in Bakong by a state-owned agency, Sarawak Land Custody and Development Authority and a private company, Cipta Sawit Sdn Bhd.
He said the government had always been transparent in all the land development agreements and would only allow private investors with good track records to participate to ensure good returns for the land owners.
Entri said the land development, initiated by the government, was intended to benefit the land owners by adding value to their lands, facilitating the process of surveying and issuance of titles and to open up new economic opportunities.
"There would be certainties of the values and definable sizes of their lands which could then be converted into monetary terms. If they don't develop their lands, they will not progress," he said.
On the opposition parties’ campaign to instigate NCR land owners to oppose the government land development programme, Entri, who is Marudi state assemblyman, said the opposition was not interested in seeing land owners to earn a better living. - Bernama
