Awang Tengah: 1.249 million hectares or 3.089 million acres of NCR land have been surveyed

KUCHING, Oct 21 2026: The Land and Survey Department has surveyed 1.249 million hectares or 3.089 acres of native customary rights (NCR) land from October 2010 to Sept 2026, Deputy Premier Awang Tengah Ali Hasan told the State Legislative Assembly (SLA) today. 

Caption: Deputy Premier Awang Tengah Ali Hasan says that 979,000 hectares of NCR land have been gazetted as Bumiputera Communal Reserves

 He said of this total, approximately 979,000 hectares (2.42 million acres) have been gazetted as Bumiputera Communal Reserves (Agriculture) under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code.

He said since 2017, the surveying of individual lots has been intensified to facilitate the issuance of land titles under Section 18, stating that to date, 112,711 lots have been successfully surveyed. 

"The Sarawak government consistently recognises rights over NCR land that are valid and established in accordance with land laws," he said in his winding up speech. 

"To accelerate NCR land surveying, the state government has expanded the capacity of the Land and Survey Department by recruiting 467 new officers, engaging private surveyors, and implementing surveying technologies that offer greater speed and precision. The Sarawak Government has approved RM40 million to strengthen this programme.

"The federal government, meanwhile, has approved RM15 million under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), of which RM2 million was disbursed to the Sarawak Land and Survey Department in 2026," he said.