KOTA KINABALU – Sepanggar MP Datuk Azis Jamman has lambasted the GRS Sabah government for “giving away” close to 2,000 hectares of land to federal agencies.
Azis said to “give away” such a vast amount of land undermines the rights of Sabahans.
“We do not object to building infrastructure such as schools and hospitals but the point is that the federal government already possesses large tracts of land in Sabah.
“Why is the current state government giving away more land when many areas are already allocated to federal agencies and these lands have been left idle for many years?
“There are many people in the rural areas who do not even have an inch of land that they can call their own and the state government today continues to neglect their needs,” he said, here today.
Azis said the previous Warisan-led government had already gazetted areas in Inanam, Karambunai and Darau that can be developed for the benefit of Sabahans.
“GRS should get its priorities right and that is to serve the people. What should be at the top of their list now is the repair of existing roads and fixing dilapidated schools.
“Giving away more land for new projects seems unnecessary at a time when the existing infrastructure in Sabah is already in bad shape.”
He also cited the case of 80,937ha that was given to Felda to be developed for oil palm smallholders but eventually only 1,500 of them stood to gain even though the correct number of beneficiaries should have been many times that number.
“Who is managing the remaining 70% of the area? While Felda benefits, kampung folk remain poor and instead of helping them, the GRS government deprives them of the opportunity to own land,” said Azis.
He said what the state government has done is in glaring contrast to the previous Warisan-led government which awarded villagers with native land titles.
Warisan president, Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Shafie Apdal had distributed more than 10,000 acres worth of land titles to rural folks from 2019 to 2020. – The Vibes, February 18, 2021.
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