Perimeter survey of NCR land to continue next year – DCM
KOTA SAMARAHAN: The perimeter survey of Native Customary Rights (NCR) land in Sarawak under the new ‘NCR Land Initiative’ will continue next year.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said this was made possible following the announcement of a RM30-million allocation from the federal government under Budget 2018.
“The allocation of RM30 million will enable us to carry out more NRC perimeter surveys under the new NCR land initiative,” he told reporters at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) yesterday.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, in tabling Budget 2018 on Friday, announced a RM50-million allocation for the surveying and mapping of NCR land, of which RM30 million would be meant for Sarawak and RM20 million for Sabah.
The new NCR land initiative has been implemented since 2010, in response to requests from the NCR landowners for their land to be surveyed and issued titles.
It started with an initial allocation of RM20 million in 2010, and was increased in subsequent years.
Awang Tengah, who is also Second Minister of Urban Development and Natural Resources, was at Unimas representing Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg to launch the state-level ‘National Environment Day’.
Still on Budget 2018, Awang Tengah said it was a holistic, comprehensive and inclusive budget that would ensure a better future for the country.
He said as far as Sarawak was concerned, Sarawakians are grateful that the budget had allocated funds to implement more infrastructure projects such as the building of roads, extending electricity supply and other utilities to the state’s rural areas.
He said the allocation of RM1 billion to repair dilapidated schools in Sarawak would have a big impact on the state.
“There are so many dilapidated schools in the state. In some places, we even have schools that were built before Independence, and are in urgent need of repairs,” he said.
Awang Tengah, who is also Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, also urged entrepreneurs in Sarawak especially those involved in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to grab the various incentives proposed under Budget 2018.
“Apart from enhancing investment and trade in the country, there are so many incentives for entrepreneurship development and growth of SMEs in the country. This is rightly so because SMEs play important role and are actually the backbone of the country’s economy,” he said.
Among the incentives mentioned under Budget 2018 were the allocation of RM7 billion under Skim Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan (SJPP), with RM1 billion provided as loans to enable SMEs to automate their production processes and reduce employment of foreign workers.