PENAMPANG: A total of 91 residents of Kampung Togudon received their land titles today, under the Native Customary Land Service Programme of Sabah (Pantas), said Penampang Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Ewon Benedick.
Ewon, who is also Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister, said that the land titles, covering 157.37 hectares, were handed over as part of the first phase of distribution, from a total of 982 hectares surveyed under the Pantas initiative.
“I am aware that the residents of Kampung Togudon have been waiting for land ownership for many years. As soon as I was elected as the MP for Penampang, this issue became one of my top priorities,” he said.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});“Following approval from the Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, we began the land survey under Pantas in August last year. Today, we are witnessing the implementation of Phase 1 of the land title handover,” he said during the ceremony held in the village.
Ewon added that the handover marked the end of a long-standing wait for the villagers to finally obtain rightful ownership of their land.
“I am confident that this will open a new chapter for economic activities in the village, particularly in the agriculture and rural tourism sectors,” he said.
The land survey under Pantas in Kampung Togudon is the first to be carried out in Penampang, and was only initiated after Ewon was elected as the parliamentary constituency’s elected representative.
Ewon also reaffirmed his commitment to expanding Pantas to other villages, including Kampung Moyog, Kampung Rugading, and Kampung Kibunut.
“I have brought up the need to continue the Pantas Programme in the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) 2026-2030 at the Federal Cabinet-level.
“I’m pleased that it has been included in the 13MP, as presented by the Prime Minister under the special development agenda for the Bumiputera communities in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
“I will continue to seek the Chief Minister’s support to expand Pantas in the areas I represent – namely Penampang and Kadamaian – as most of the funding for this initiative is allocated by the Federal government,” he added.
