Villagers permitted to cultivate 121.59 hectare site in Kinabalu Park

KOTA BELUD: The Sabah Parks (TTS) has issued occupation permits to 47 villagers of Kampung Mantanau near here, which will enable them to use the protected land for agricultural activities, said TTS Board of Trustee chairman Datuk Seri Dr Tengku Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahamood.

He said the villagers were also been given the opportunity to use the natural resources available on the 121.59 hectare site in Kinabalu Park to promote eco-tourism activities to help boost economic growth and income.

Elaborating, he said this was the first time the permit was issued and the village community had from the start given their cooperation in conducting surveys on the land to identify if the land was within the confines of the park area.

"The understanding and cooperation between TTS and the Kampung Mantanau community has created a symbiotic relationship or a winwin situation. We are able to develop the land (within the park) and at the same time conserve the area," he told Bernama after handing over the permits here on Monday.

Tengku Zainal Adlin said with the move, permit holders benefited as they were given the rights to occupy and cultivate the permitted area and the permit could be passed on to their immediate family.

He added that permit holders were also eligible for agricultural subsidies and would not be subjected to any legal action as long as they complied with the stipulated rules and conditions.

For the TTS management he said, control and protection of the park area would be more effective as the community would only work on the permitted area and would no longer go beyond or encroach into other areas.

Meanwhile, TTS director Dr Jamili Nais said granting the permit was the best way to resolve conflicts over land use from overlapping rights which have been identified in 13 areas, including in Kampung Mantanau as discovered by a qualified surveyor some 22 years ago.

"Kinabalu Park was gazetted in 1964, but at that time land surveys were only conducted by the rangers. The current management and team decided that granting the permit was the best solution and the Kampung Mantanau villagers agreed," he said.

Meanwhile Gusti Bantasan, 60, who is also Kampung Mantanau village head, in expressing his gratitude to TTS management said this was the best thing to happen after the long wait.

Another permit holder, Elizabeth Elim, 35, said with sufficient capital she would start a homestay business as the land granted to her was strategically located near a river which would attract tourists.

TTS, an agency under Sabah Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment is responsible for managing and safeguarding nine parks in the state.