The Sabah government can impose conditions on the transfer of native land titles just like it has done with low-cost housing schemes.He said the communal titles approach, as announced by the state government, could still be abused by the trustees of the communal titles.
“Communal title is under the trustee of a village head who is a government servant and if the trustee is to heed the instruction of the government to go into joint-venture or to transfer it to someone else, all the native people in the scheme will lose their right.
“What is stopping the state government from issuing the native land title to the natives directly and what is the safeguard against abuse?
“There is nothing to stop the state government issuing individual native titles as has been done for many years in the past,” he said.
Yong recalled that when he was chief minister from 1996 to 1998, more than 40,000 native titles were issued to individual natives statewide.
On the state government’s contention that the issuance of the communal titles is to safeguard the interest of the natives and prevent them selling their NCR (native customary right) land to others, Yong said: “The state government can impose a policy barring the transfer of the native title land to non-natives or even outside the family just like they have done with low-cost housing scheme.”
Yong, who also helms SAPP, said the party will push to turn the communal titles into individual native titles if it forms the new state government.
“If we have a new government and we (SAPP) have a say, communal titles can be subdivided into individual native titles.
“The election is just around the corner, change the government and we will do it properly,” he told reporters after the inter-party dialogue and leadership seminar on Saturday.
Perennial issue
He was responding to a question on whether the issuance of the communal title for NCR land to the natives by the present state government is appropriate and beneficial to the natives.
Yong noted that land reform is one of the three perennial and pressing issues which SAPP intends to resolve if it comes to power.
The other two issues are the high unemployment rate and high inflation rate.
Yong also applauded the recent High Court decision which ruled that that NCR be extended to areas declared state land or forest reserves.
He said the ruling is just and appropriate because it explicitly stated in the Forest Management Agreement that NCR in forest reserve shall be protected.
“But in the last three to four years, the state government started to chase the natives out of the forest reserve and this is very wrong. So the judge had corrected the abuse of power by the state government,” he said.
By Queville To
Kenapa masa Yong Teck Lee jadi KM dulu dia tidak membuat demikian?
ReplyDelete“The election is just around the corner, change the government and we will do it properly,”
ReplyDeleteboring .. SAPP often incite the people to deny any solution made by the government just for their political interests. how people want to trust YTL after he has create many problems for the people of Sabah during his tenure as CM?