A part of SFI land to be released for the residents of Tenom

29 September 2024

TENOM: A portion of the land within the Sabah Forest Industry (SFI) area in this district will be released and designated as village land.

The Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor, stated that several thousand hectares of land within the company's forestry concession area have already been identified for release so that residents can continue to occupy it legally.

At the same time, he mentioned that he would also instruct the Department of Land and Survey (JTU) to implement the Sabah Native Land Services (PANTAS) programme in this district.

He said that this is to resolve issues related to land that has long been occupied and cultivated by village residents, allowing it to be surveyed and grants to be issued to the owners.

"We will ensure several thousand acres of land in the SFI are released for our villagers in Tenom.

"Similarly, for land that has not yet been surveyed, I will ask the Director of JTU to use the PANTAS programme to measure the land of the residents so that the land that has long been cultivated can be granted titles," he said .

He was speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the Annual Meeting of Gagasan Rakyat for the Kemabong division at the Sri Ontoros Hall, Kemabong on Saturday.

He was responding to several motions raised by the Gagasan Rakyat Kemabong division Chief Datuk Rubin Balang, regarding the interests of the people in the area.

Speaking at a press conference afterward, Hajiji mentioned that he would call the company in question to discuss the proposal to release part of the SFI land.