SAPP lists its land policies should it be given mandate in polls

PENAMPANG: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) onTuesday launched its Sabah Land Reforms containing 14 policies it pledged to implement if it takes over the State Government administration in the next election.

This was unveiled in a ceremony organised by the party at The Bundusan Place, here, officialed at by its President Datuk YongTeck Lee.

Of this, 13 are policies formulated according to every category of land that had been identified by the party in Sabah. The 14th is on existing land administration improvements and updating which the party pledged to studyin detail where actions would be taken to ensure that land applications and issuance of land titles are expedited.

The first poticy is on land related to native rights where the party's indigenous ancestral lands to be vested in perpetuity collectively to the community and managed in accordance with the native customs.

Under this policy such land may not be sold, transferred, or changed for any purpose that may lead to it losing ownership.

The second is on land fraud that is meant to redress fraudulent loss of Native Customary Rights (NCR).

The party said if in power, it will recover lands in rural areas which have been fraudulently issued land titles to private companies or individuals against proven NCR and retuned to the original NCR owners; with compensation to the legitimate CL-title registered owners as required under the Federal Constitution.

Investigations and criminal proceedings will also be instituted against persons involved in the fraudulent processing, approval and issuance of land titles.

The third policy is related to schemes for small farmers, where SAPP will open up land schemes for smallholders in various parts of Sabah for settlement, cultivation and development by genuine local Malaysians in Sabah/Labuan, whether born or permanently resident in Sabah/Labuan.

The fourth is on land for the native people where there will be no more land approvals to non-local companies for agriculture lands and agricultural lands may only be approved and alienated to local Malaysians.

The fifth is on development of land for commercial, industrial and housing, where approvals and all dealings on commercial, industrial and residential lands are encouraged so as to promote the people's economic advancement. Urban commercial land shall be auctioned in accordance with proper procedures in order to maximise revenues to the State Government.

The sixth is on land title/lease renewal, where applications for renewing land leases in urban and rural areas will be approved as soon as possible without reducing the original lease tenure. Applications to extend the existing land lease tenure from 99 years to 999 years will be allowed.

The seventh is on forest land, where traditional villages within forest reserves shall be enhanced as traditional villages (community forests) and managed under native customs; and all Forest Management Plans (FMPs) will take into the account these villages and their future expansion progress.

The 8th is on burial land area where the party will maintain those land gazetted as burial reserve land and native village cemetery according to traditions and customs, while the 9th is on grazing reserve which will be maintained so that local can continue working in accordance with the original objectives.

The 10th is on community title where agricultural lands and settlements, especially communal titles will be reviewed with a view to issue Native Title (NT) to local natives in the area concerned.

The 11th is on the government where lands that have been and arebeing used by government agencies will be reviewed to ensure that their intended uses truly benefit the people of Sabah.

The twelfth is on villages within urban areas where existing vil lages in the urban areas with Town Lease (TL) or CL Land leases will, be maintained as villages and village development will be updated to suit current conditions.

Lastly the party pledged that Felda lands in Lahad Datu and Tawau will be retuned to its original purpose, which is for settlers, including second and third generation settlers.

The party stated that Felda lands in Umas Umas (Tawau) and Sahabat (Lahad Datu) consist of 119,765 hectares (about 295,945acres) but only 9,668.58ha have been allocated to the 1,647 settlers (families), meaning relatively about 5.87acres per settler.

This is only 8.07 per cent of the total land area, approximately 14 per cent for Umas Umas and only five per cent for Lahad Datu Sahabat, and the party claimed Felda has swallowed 92 per cent of the total land mentioned which was originally intended for local settlers.

Under the land reforms, the party will claim the balance of the land (110,096ha or 272,050ades) for local settlers, with priority given to the second and third generation settlers and other local, landless people who are genuine farmers. At 15 acres (gross) per family, this reform expects to benefit more than 15,000 families.

Towards this objective, it will pursue with Felda and, if necessary, to resort to judicial recourse.

These policies were formulated after two years of work by the party, through its Manifesto Committee headed by Datuk Haji Mohd Noor Mansur who is also the party's adviser.

Yong, in his speech, said the natives of Sabah are increasingly losing their cultural heritage and space as a result of land alienation to government agencies and big companies and the history of sale of NT lands by earlier generations of native land owners to private companies.

"This crisis has been severely compounded by the many instances of land grabs big companies with strong connections to the ruling politicians, incompetence and possible fraud on the part of land officers and a 'don't care attitude of their elected representatives'," he said.

Villagers are being forcibly evicted from forest reserves even though the law provides for the enhancement of traditional villages as "forest communities" with forest reserves, he said, adding that some villages have even been in existence before the gazetting of the forest reserves.

He said this displacement of natives from their rural lands will dislocation among natives and make them squatters in their own ancestral land, leading to the inevitable social instability and socio-economic problems for future generations of all Sabahans.

“The massive loss of land is a problem not confined to only natives. Other Sabahans are rapidly losing their homesteads and agricultural lands. Urban Sabahans can no longer afford a landed house. Sabahans are fast becoming tenants in their own State," he said. The fear of being unable to obtain a renewal of their expiring land leases is a real and depressing intimidation caused by the failure of the govemment to renew land leases, he added.

Yong said SAPP reaffirms Article 4 of the party’s constitution which is to "promote and protect the rights and interests of local natives and other citizens in Sabah", adding that being a people based political party it desires to fulfil its mission to establish a trustworthy government and a progressive, just and harmonious society.

"These land reforms policies are our commitment to the people that, as a government, we shall steadfastly implement," he said.

His Deputy Presidents Datuk Eric Majimbun, Datuk Liew Teck Chan and Amde Sidek, Information Chief Chong Pit Fah, Wanita Chief Melanie Chia, Youth Chief Edward Dagul and other leaders were also present. Also present were representatives of those villagers of land related cases from throughout the State.

By Larry Ralon (DE)