Parti Anak Negeri to look into land grab allegations

KENINGAU: Parti Anak Negeri expressed serious concern and promised to look into allegations of land grab activities targeting native customary rights ( NCR) land owners in rural villages.

Its president, Datuk Henrynus Amin, said if allegations were found to be true, the next state government after the 14th general election (GE14) must take drastic measures to freeze all land applications by companies in order to weed out doubtful applicants.

He said land issue is an emotive issue in the interior of Sabah where poor villagers were demanding protection from greedy and unscrupulous private companies targeting tens of thousands of acres of NCR land.

According to Henrynus, the party will urge the next state government to carry out land reform which has the undivided support of Parti Anak Negeri supporters.

Land issue, he said, is expected to be the main campaign issue in the coming general election.

Speaking at the opening of Parti Anak Negeri Pensiangan branch office recently, Henrynus promised the party would work towards the reform of state land laws to empower NCR land development and ownership.

Henrynus was commenting on an earlier speech by Parti Anak Negeri Pensiangan chief Engah @ Dahlan Abdullah who raised the issue of land, especially fears among villagers of losing their claim on NCR land.

Henrynus said the party proposed to change land laws to enable owners of NCR land to register their land at the district land office to create proof of ownership.

“Owners of NCR land should register everything built or planted in their land, including land demarcation to be endorsed by village chiefs,” he said.

The party also proposed the setting up of an NCR/ NT land tribunal to assist villagers to speedily resolve land disputes at district level at minimal cost.

Further the party also plans to set up licensed NT land bank to assist needy natives to access fund by using their NT land as collateral to obtain financial assistance without the risk of losing their land.

He said thousands of native titles might have been pledged and lost to loan sharks within months due to the huge interest.

To avoid loan sharks, needy native land owners can obtain low interest loan at NT land bank to meet emergency needs such as their children entering university, weddings, hospitalisation, funerals, etc.

Meanwhile Parti Anak Negeri will look into public grievances against the implementation of Communal Title policy which many villagers seemed to have serious doubt.

He said in spite of good intention the party received information that affected villagers had doubts about the implementation of the communal title.

Henrynus questioned the blanket cancellation of all land applications converted into the Communal Title which he said effectively deprived villagers of land that rightfully belong to them.

He said instead of turning these NCR land into Communal Title, the state government should have undertaken to survey these native lands and issued them land titles by increasing fund for Pantas land survey programme.