By Yussof J. Imbang
TONGOD: The Assemblyman for Kuamut, Datuk Masiung Banah, has assured that he will not allow external companies to monopolise government reserve land for agricultural and mineral development in the district.
He emphasised prioritising the indigenous residents of Tongod for applications and grants under the Native Title (NT) or through the Sabah Native Land Measurement (PANTAS).
“Since taking office as the representative for Kuamut in 2008, I have implemented a new policy to freeze any new applications from outside companies.
“This policy ensures that the government will not approve the acquisition of government reserve land by large corporations unless the local residents are given priority first,” he stated.
Masiung made these remarks after delivering a speech at the district-level Kaamatan Festival in the Entilibon hall, which was officiated by Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam, on Sunday.
“Since I became the Kuamut representative in 2008, I was shocked to find that over 90,000 acres of titled land were controlled by external plantation companies.
“Therefore, we have adopted a policy to provide opportunities for residents to apply for land and obtain private grants,” he added.
Meanwhile, at that time, the village residents in Tongod only owned 9,000 acres of land, and they had to wait between 30 and 40 years to obtain land grants.
Masiung expressed gratitude that to date, more than 100,000 land grants have been issued, with a capacity of 10 acres per resident in the Tongod area.
Over 3,000 visitors attended the Kaamatan Festival, including exhibitions from various government and private agencies.
