SALCRA’s 50-year journey transforms rural livelihoods: Abang Jo

KUCHING: The Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (SALCRA) has played an important role in transforming rural livelihoods by turning Native Customary Rights (NCR) land into productive economic assets over the past five decades.

Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said SALCRA had overcome considerable challenges since its establishment in 1976, particularly in changing traditional approaches to land management.

He said its success demonstrated how landowners could benefit economically through the consolidation and modern management of their land.

“SALCRA has survived 50 years and transformed rural communities. It has changed the lives of rural people, particularly those with NCR land, by turning their land into an important economic asset,” he said during SALCRA Golden Jubilee dinner on Monday (Oct 12) night.

Abang Johari noted that SALCRA’s development involved approximately 55,000 hectares of land, with some 22,000 participants from 400 longhouses and villages.

He said the organisation had become a blueprint for NCR land development in Sarawak.

“However, land ownership alone would not necessarily generate economic benefits unless the land was productively developed. Land is an economic asset, but if you don’t develop your land, that means you are losing economic opportunity,” he said.

Abang Johari explained that SALCRA’s consolidation approach enabled smaller parcels of land to be managed collectively, creating economies of scale and a more structured plantation operation.

He also clarified that the original concept behind SALCRA was to consolidate land management rather than take ownership of the land itself.

“It was to consolidate the management of the asset, not to take over the land, so that there would be economies of scale,” he said.

Abang Johari credited former Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang, who introduced the relevant legislation in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) in 1976, for laying the foundation for the organisation.

He also thanked the landowners who had agreed to participate in SALCRA’s development programmes, as well as its former chairmen and general managers for their contributions.

“We must thank Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu and the early leaders, including Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Leonard Linggi Jugah, who laid the foundation for transforming the way we manage our land and assets.

“It is therefore fitting that SALCRA’s building in Samarahan is named after Alfred Jabu, in recognition of his contributions,” he said.

Looking ahead, Abang Johari expressed hope that the organisation would continue its transformation towards modern plantation management and a technology-driven economy over the next 50 years.