Therefore, the Sarawak Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development said, Sarawakians should not believe those who claimed otherwise.
Recently, the issue of native customary rights (NCR) land – especially land that is known as ‘pemakai menua’ and ‘pulau galau’ (PMPG) – has been hotly debated.
Native activists and the opposition have been agitating to ensure that natives do not lose the rights to their customary land, in the wake of development projects being undertaken in some land, including with government participation.
Uggah told The Borneo Post that the state government was very serious in finding a holistic solution to the NCR land issue.
However, he said, the government would not give in to pressure from some dissenting natives entangled in land disputes with the government, and who had organised rallies both here and in Kuala Lumpur.
Uggah said Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg had said that the state recognised PMPG land and that the Sarawak government had formed a special committee to look into the issue holistically and to amend the Land Code so that some of these issues could be resolved.
“It has been on the table and we are working on it. Not only that, we also have group discussions, not only in Kuching, but also in Bintulu. And on top of that, we have been receiving feedback as well,” Uggah was quoted as saying.
He said he had even held a meeting with state PKR chief Baru Bian a few weeks ago regarding the matter and that the government welcomed Baru’s feedback.
“This thing cannot be rushed. That’s the reason why we have to reject the motion moved by YB Baru Bian recently (in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly) because his proposal was incomplete and not holistic,” he said.
He added: “For example if you want to renovate your house, you got to have all the structures ready. You cannot just pull one or two ‘tiang’ (posts) and say let’s renovate the house. This is the reason why we didn’t support the (Baru’s) motion, not that we are not helping the Dayaks. In fact, we are also sympathetic with them on this problem.”
Uggah said those accusing the state government of betraying them, were not trying to understand what the government was doing.
The government, he said, was not rushing into resolving the issue as it did not want to be confronted with other problems later. It is seeking a holistic solution.
“The government is different from NGOs and private individuals who can just pronounce on something and later not honour it.”
Meanwhile, Uggah, who is acting deputy president of PBB, told The Borneo Post he believed that the majority of the natives were still supportive of the government, despite the problems they faced over NCR land.
“I am confident that we will get the support from the people, especially with the chief minister and his new vision of the digital economy, various development programmes, fighting for Sarawak’s rights, etc. Those are the bigger issues which the people must also look at. So to me, I’m confident that they will support us,” he was quoted as saying.