Religious land registration gets new rules

THE Sarawak government is working with the Unit for Other Religions (UNIFOR) to establish a standard procedure for registering land endowments to religious bodies under Section 171A of the Sarawak Land Code.

Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the Land Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 introduced the new provision specifically to facilitate the registration of wakaf or endowment of land to religious bodies.

He said the Land and Survey Department Sarawak was working closely with UNIFOR to develop an overall adaptive procedure covering different religious bodies in Sarawak.

“This includes the determination of ownership of Native Customary Rights (NCR) land prior to the registration of such endowment,” he said in response to Lidam Assan (GPS-Katibas) during question and answer session on Friday (Oct 16).

Len said determination of ownership of NCR rights under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code was required before an endowment of untitled NCR land could be registered under Section 171A.

He said the land title must first be registered before the registration of the endowment could take effect.

“This is to ensure certainty of proprietorship of the endowed land to the respective religious body,” he said.

On the implications of Section 171A once it takes effect, he said the provision was intended to ease the registration of endowments to the respective religious bodies by establishing a clear and structured legal mechanism.

He said the mechanism would provide a “fit-for-all” approach for religious land endowments and ensure endowed land was properly administered.

“The provision would also minimise the risk of future disputes involving endowed land,” he added.