Kudi: NCR landowners must share in profits

Commercial development of Native Customary Rights (NCR) land must put income and jobs into the hands of landowners and their families, with consent and fair returns central to any arrangement.

Baleh assemblyman Nicholas Kudi Jantai said landowners should have a meaningful role in developing an asset that represents their inheritance, livelihood and future generations’ security.

“Landowners should not simply be the ones providing the land while others enjoy the profits and economic opportunities,” he said when debating the Supply (2027) Bill, 2026 during the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Sitting on Thursday (Oct 15).

Turning that land into a sustainable source of income, he said, would require wider access to technical assistance, training, suitable financing and markets for NCR owners and smallholders.

He identified suitable commercial crops, modern agriculture, livestock farming and agrotourism as opportunities beyond oil palm that could create employment closer to home for Baleh’s youths.

However, unresolved land surveys and titles could hamper owners’ ability to plan development and establish certainty over their boundaries.

He therefore urged the government to accelerate surveys and issuance of titles under Sections 6 and 18 of the Sarawak Land Code, supported by clear completion targets and regular progress reports.

He also proposed a mechanism for owners to check their applications, alongside stronger departmental capacity to carry out field surveys.

The push to raise landowners’ earnings must also address the cost of getting produce to buyers, with poor farm roads, expensive transport and insufficient collection facilities eating into smallholders’ returns.

Kudi called for farm roads to be developed alongside agricultural assistance programmes, with storage, transport and marketing facilities helping farmers secure reasonable prices.

“My hope is that issuing land titles will go beyond an administrative exercise and become a step towards opening economic opportunities and protecting the community’s rights for the long term,” he said.