KUCHING: The Sarawak Land and Survey Department recorded a revenue collection of RM600.62 million last year.
Director Awang Zamhari Awang Mahmood said the three highest revenue sources included land premiums amounting to RM293.13 million, land tax (RM202.23 million), and mining royalties (RM60.39 million).
“Compared to the operating costs for 2,993 staff members, which amounted to RM182.02 million, the revenue collection of the Land and Survey Department resulted in a surplus of RM418.6 million.
“As for land title registration records, as of Dec 31, 2024, a total of 770,885 land titles were registered across Sarawak, covering an area of 2,470,381 hectares or 6,104,311 acres.
“The Kuching Division recorded the highest number of land title registrations, with 187,240 lots, accounting for 24 per cent of the total registered titles,” he said in his speech during the closing ceremony of the LANDAS Summit 2025 at the Sheraton Hotel here on Wednesday (Feb 26).
On another note, Awang Zamhari said that up until last year, a total of 1,187,427 hectares of native customary rights (NCR) land across Sarawak had been surveyed for perimeter measurement, with 925,934 hectares of it gazetted as Native Communal Reserve (Agriculture) under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code, demonstrating the public’s confidence in the state government’s noble efforts.
“The initiative to enhance individual lot surveying under this programme continues to be strengthened by improving the technology and measurement methods used.
“As of the end of 2024, a total of 115,407 hectares have been surveyed into individual lots, involving 97,018 lots,” he added.
He said a total of 81 projects under the Resettlement Scheme (SPS) and the Permanent Settlement Scheme (SPK) had been approved, which will provide 7,952 residential lots with an estimated implementation cost of RM1.436 billion (RM1,436,023,626).
“Out of these 81 projects, 24 have been fully completed according to the development scope, while the remaining 57 projects will continue to be implemented.
“In addition to providing residential lots complete with new-specification infrastructure, housing development agencies have also been allocated residential lots for affordable housing development within the SPS and SPK schemes. The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has been approved for 663 lots, the Land Custody Development Authority (LCDA) for 121 lots, and the Borneo Development Corporation (BDC) for 75 lots,” he said.
On the summit itself, he said it serves as a platform for interaction among the department’s management group officers.
If the previous LANDAS Summit 2024 adopted the theme ‘Organizational Transformation Through the Power of Data and Innovation’, this year’s LANDAS Summit, which began on February 24, has introduced the theme ‘Synergizing Land Administration Powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI)’.
“In conjunction with LANDAS Summit 2025, we have also conducted a reporting session on the achievements and actions of the Land and Survey Department’s Strategic Plan 2021-2025.
“Based on the achievements and challenges in implementing these initiatives and actions, they will serve as a key reference in drafting the Land and Survey Department’s Strategic Plan 2026-2030,” he added.
The closing ceremony was officiated by Deputy Premier and Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan. Deputy Minister of Urban Development, Land Administration, and Environment Datuk Len Talif Salleh also present.
