Beluran: Villagers from six kampungs in Paitan here hope the Land and Survey Department will expedite processing the areas as Native Customary Rights (NCR) land to avoid overlapping applications from outsiders. The villages are Kampung Dalamas, Lubang Buaya, Alungoi, Sulit, Batangon Darat and Lakang. According to Kampung Lakang JKKK Chairman, Maumin Maijin, 38, all 283 customary land settlement report forms which bear the number LSF 1898 have been forwarded to the Beluran District Officer who is also the Assistant Collector of Land Revenue (ACLR) last week. He said the forms were sent through eight representatives from the six villages. The villages, he said, which are five hours away from the Beluran District Office, have been in existence even before Malaysia was formed. "However, until now not one of the villages concerned has acquired land title," he said.
He said the reports and claim for NCR were based on Section 13, 14, 15, 65 and 66, Chapter 68 of the Sabah Land Ordinance (SLO). Kampung Lubang Buaya JKKK member, Rahman Juspak, 35, said a copy of the form approval signed by the Beluran Land and Survey Department has been sent to the Director of Land and Survey Department in Kota Kinabalu.
Copies have also been sent to the Sabah Forestry Department and Assistant District Officer for sub-district Paitan. He said it is important the application is approved for the sake of future generations in the villages. Rahman also said that there have been many cases of customary land rights that were "forcefully seized" from the natives. "Hence, before it is too late, we hope the Land and Survey Department would expedite processing the forms and issue the land titles," he said.
He said if the land they have been toiling for generations are taken away, it would cause problems for them since they would have nowhere else to go. He also said that the Government should recognise the natives' rights and do their best to accommodate their needs. As of now, he said large companies from Sarawak, the peninsula and also from Sabah have acquired much land resulting in land getting scarce for the locals or natives. SOURCE: Daily Express - 14 November 2006
