SERIAN: Sarawak’s ongoing Bidayuh Native Customary Rights (NCR) Land Documentation Project aims to safeguard the community’s land ownership rights and ensure benefits for future generations.
Bukit Semuja Assemblyman, John Ilus, said that the government will continue to organise programmes aimed at providing awareness and fostering close cooperation among the Bidayuh community through the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) and relevant government agencies to accelerate the NCR land documentation process.
“In this regard, I urge village chiefs to continue giving their full support to DBNA’s efforts in implementing the documentation project,” he said this while chairing the ‘Briefing and Dialogue on the Bidayuh NCR Land Documentation Project’ today.
He emphasised that this initiative is important for clearly identifying land ownership, resolving boundary disputes between landowners, villages, and government land, and expediting the issuance of official grants.
“There are two main approaches that can be considered: through land documentation projects by DBNA or via group-based land development with qualified companies planting commercial crops such as coffee, corn, palm oil, and paddy fields,” he said.
John also touched on the proposal to gazette Bung Muja as a heritage area, which he said needs to be refined through discussions with village chiefs, the local community, DBNA, and the Land and Survey Department (JTS).
He said that this step would provide added value not only to the local community but also in preserving the Bidayuh cultural heritage and identity.
For the record, the programme successfully achieved its objectives by increasing the understanding and awareness of community leaders regarding the importance of NCR land documentation.
