Salcra set to kick off RM121.4 million oil palm project in Pakan
KUCHING: The Sarawak Land Custody and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) is set to commence its latest oil palm plantation project worth RM121.4 million in Pakan this October.
The project involves 3,697 hectares of land and 211 participants from longhouses across the district, according to a Salcra infographic sighted by The Borneo Post yesterday.
The participants are from Rumah Bujang Tutong in Ulu Tebok, Rumah Jantan Brun in Nanga Tebok, Rumah Sara Melayu in Nanga Dendang, Rumah Kadam Tajak in Sungai Buloh and Rumah Panggai Ujang in Dayat.
It is informed that there have been several dialogues involving the longhouses, the land owners and Salcra being held since March 2016.
It is also made known that the funding for the project, which is under the 12th Malaysia Plan, would be provided by the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development.
When contacted, Pakan assemblyman Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom said his constituency’s socio-economic transformation had been gaining momentum with Salcra pursuing and facilitating its land development.
“Land development involving oil palm plantations is always a part of Pakan master plan,” he said.
“Other things in the master plan include agriculture involving other cash crops, fruits, and jungle produce.
“Salcra, via the state Economic Planning Unit (EPU), is always committed with its mission, making sure that both landowners and stakeholders would benefit from joint ventures.
“Land development under Salcra was always successful. There should be more development on Native Customary Rights (NCR) land.
“Let Salcra develop the land rather than landowners waiting for capital, ending up leaving their land idle.
“Salcra has the expertise and the start-up capital to begin any joint venture. Eventually, NCR land will be issued with titles,” he added.
As for the latest Salcra joint venture project, an approved allocation of RM10 million would have to be spent this year alone, said Mawan, also the advisor in the Office of Sarawak Premier overseeing food industry, commodity and regional development.
He said such plantations would normally bring forth access roads to be built here and thereby, improving connectivity further in Pakan and surrounding districts.
“Pakan’s transformation into an agro-based industrial constituency is on the card,” Mawan said.
“The NCR land, which used to be idle before, has now once and for all become an economic asset, generating income for the land owners in particular, and people in Pakan as a whole.”
Mawan was confident that Salcra would be welcomed by his constituents, and the agency would be delighted to note that Pakan folks were ‘very friendly and cooperative’.
When releasing the findings of its MyCensus 2020 in September last year, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) named Pakan as ‘the friendliest district in Malaysia’,” Mawan pointed out.
He disclosed that he chaired two top-level meetings last week as part of the push for transformation.
The meeting with Salcra officials, led by its general manager Joseph Blandoi, was held on Feb 6, while the meeting with representatives of the implementing agencies and community leaders from Pakan took place on Feb 8.