SANDAKAN – A landowner today decried the move by the Sandakan Municipal Council (SMC) to rezone his property as a mangrove forest reserve, claiming that the authorities have brushed aside objections raised by him and other landowners affected by the decision.
Datuk Peter Hii Chang Lik said his plots in the Tinusa and Sapagaya regions have long been zoned as residential and agricultural land, and were not suitable to grow mangrove forests as they were not wetlands that had direct access to seawater.
“This is absolutely ridiculous. Those lands at Sapagaya have been developed into an oil palm estate over 15 years, whereas at Tinusa, some areas were filled with soil to a higher level where seawater is not reachable,” he told a news conference.
“If we can grow palm oil trees on the land, it means that it is not a wetland and it is impossible for mangrove vegetation to grow. Can mangroves grow on land without seawater? What was the SMC thinking when they were planning this?”
The Vibes is trying to reach SMC president Benedict Asmat for comments.
Hii said the SMC had hosted a hearing via Zoom last September 28-30, where he said the council took note of objections raised without explaining the rationale behind the move to rezone the land.
On Monday, the Sabah Forestry Department reached out to request the land titles for verification and further checking on site, Hii said.
“I had voiced out my objection verbally as well as in written form through my lawyer but it seems that SMC is insisting on rezoning those lands. This is not fair,” he said.
Hii said that while the landowners will remain the rightful owners after rezoning, they would be barred from developing their plots for either agricultural or commercial purposes.
“If this is the way the government is treating landowners and investors; simply rezone people’s lands anytime they want, then who is going to invest here, and how is Sandakan ever going to be developed?” he said. – The Vibes, March 18, 2022
