Sarawak gazettes 2,326ha of NCR land in Samarahan

The Sarawak government gazetted 2,326.31 hectares (about 5,748 acres) of native customary rights (NCR) land in the Samarahan Division as a native communal reserve on 11 November 2026. At the same ceremony in Kota Samarahan it handed out 718 land titles to 655 people and paid RM5.26 million in compensation for land taken for two public projects. Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan presented them at Dewan Suarah Kota Samarahan.

What was handed out

• Communal reserve: 2,326.31 ha gazetted under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code
• Section 18 titles: 679 titles to 622 people from Kampung Mang, Kampung Sampun Tebun, Tanjung Pedada, Kampung Semera, Kampung Stok, Kampung Nangka and Kampung Tebelu. These are held in perpetuity, with no premium and no land tax
• Section 13 titles: 39 titles to 33 people in Kampung Moyan Laut, for farming, on a 60-year lease. The state set the premium at RM200 per acre
• Compensation: 73 cheques totalling RM5,256,513.30 to 54 people

The compensation

• Samarahan Administrative Centre: RM4,870,236.40
• Kampung Sageng riverbank erosion protection project: RM386,276.90

The Land and Survey Department valued each claim on the land area, crops, buildings and other items allowed by law, Awang Tengah said. The land taken included titled land and land under NCR claims. He said the acquisitions follow the Sarawak Land Code and Article 13 of the Federal Constitution, which says no one may lose property except in line with the law, and that compulsory acquisition must come with adequate compensation.

The reports did not say how much land was taken for each project or where it lies.

Sarawak's NCR survey so far

Sarawak first surveys the outer boundary of NCR areas, which are then gazetted, and later surveys individual lots inside them for titles. The figures given at the ceremony:

• Samarahan Division: 23,839.69 ha surveyed under the New NCR Land Survey Initiative as of 11 November 2026, of which 11,044.93 ha (about 46%) is gazetted, said Samarahan land and survey superintendent Ahmad Raslan Yaiyah
• Whole state: 1,248,659 ha of NCR land boundaries surveyed from 2010 to 31 October 2026, of which 979,434 ha (about 78%) is gazetted
• Individual lots: 112,717 lots surveyed, of which 40,796 (about 36%) have Section 18 titles

The percentages are our calculation. Awang Tengah also urged landowners to farm their land through the modern agriculture programmes of the Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (M-FICORD).