Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government is assessing the status of land under the Nabawan Scheme before deciding on the issuance of land titles or grants to eligible villagers, the State Assembly was told on Monday.
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister Datuk Jamawi Jaafar said the land remained under evaluation as the State Government worked towards resolving long-standing issues involving the scheme.
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Replying to a question from Nabawan Assemblyman Datuk Abdul Ghani Mohamed Yassin during question time, Jamawi said his Ministry held a dialogue session with the majority of residents and land occupants on April 21 this year. The session was also attended by Abdul Ghani and local community leaders.
“Following the dialogue session, the Ministry agreed to establish two committees, namely the Nabawan Scheme Land Development Technical Committee, chaired by the Nabawan District Officer, and the Nabawan Scheme Land Development Steering Committee, chaired by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary,” he said.
Jamawi said the Technical Committee had been tasked with reassessing and carrying out a fresh demarcation of the entire Nabawan Scheme area, covering both developed and undeveloped land.
The committee will also identify land that has been cleared and cultivated by local residents, including settlement areas and villages located within the scheme.
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“The findings will be prepared in the form of mapping and presented to the Steering Committee for consideration and further action,” he said.
He added that the Steering Committee’s recommendations would then be submitted to the State Cabinet for consideration and approval.
“The Ministry is fully committed to resolving this issue, which has continued for more than 58 years since the scheme was established,” he said.
In a supplementary question, Abdul Ghani asked whether the Ministry had set a clear timeline for land surveys, gazettement and the issuance of land titles to eligible residents.
Jamawi said the first meeting of the Technical Committee had agreed to allocate six months to compile the list of applications and determine the methodology for the mapping and demarcation process.
He added that further updates on the progress of the exercise were expected by November this year.
