Over 1.2 million hectares of NCR land have been surveyed as of Sept 30, says Awang Tengah

PAKAN, Oct 30 2025: A total of 1,217,766 hectares (3.009 million acres) of the native customary rights (NCR) land across the state have been surveyed from the year 2010 to September 30 this year, under the first stage of perimeter survey, according to Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan. 

Datuk Amar Awang Tengah: As long as there is valid evidence and in accordance with the law that the land is NCR land, the government will continue to ensure that the people's rights are protected through a transparent surveying gazetting process

He said of the total, 938,342 hectares (2.3 million acres) have been gazetted under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code.

“A total of 105,344 individual lots involving an area of 125,703 hectares (310,618 acres) have been successfully surveyed,” he said when speaking at the handing over ceremony of land titles under Section 18 of the land code for the area along Jalan Pakan–Sesco/Pakan–Entabai, Sarikei, today.

He said out of the total, 34,122 lots involving an area of 47,443 hectares (117,234 acres) have been issued with land title deeds under Section 18 of the land code.

Awang Tengah, who is also the Second Minister of the Natural Resources and Urban Development, stressed that the state government remains committed to strengthening the people's land ownership rights through the implementation of individual lot surveying under the NCR land surveying programme implemented by the  Land and Survey Department.

He said the programme is implemented based on approved applications and areas that have been measured perimeter-wise and gazetted under Section 6 of the land code.

He said the government is always striving to ensure that the NCR land surveying process is implemented comprehensively in all divisions and areas, involving all Bumiputeras who have legal customary rights to their land.

"As long as there is valid evidence and in accordance with the law that the land is NCR land, the government will continue to ensure that the people's rights are protected through a transparent surveying gazetting process," he said.

He also called on all NCR land claimants to continue to extend their cooperation with the Land and Survey Department to ensure that the survey process runs smoothly.

“The cooperation of landowners in identifying boundaries, ensuring that the land is free from disputes and being present during the survey work is very important to smooth the process of gazetting and issuing individual title deeds,” he stressed.

He said the  ongoing effort clearly reflects the Sarawak government’s commitment to ensuring that the people’s rights to indigenous customary land continue to be preserved for the well-being and development of rural communities.