PENAMPANG: The Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) fully supports Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan who recently agreed to expand the conditions of Native Title (NT) land use to include other activities like industry and housing development, and not just limited to agriculture.
KDCA Secretary-General Datuk Suman Yasambun said Dr Jeffrey’s statement on the matter was timely and most welcome.
“If this is realised, it will benefit especially all the natives in Sabah. KDCA fully supports the Deputy Chief Minister cum Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister’s statement and hopes that it can be realised.
“KDCA believes that the Government can find suitable methods to ensure that the NT status is not affected by the expansion of the use of the NT land such as for commercial activities,” he said in a statement, Wednesday.
Suman said land is a priceless asset for the natives because it is synonymous with their identity as indigenous people of Sabah.
“The NT-status land is also a legacy of the ancestors of the indigenous people in Sabah that are being passed down from generation to generation.
“Recently, a lot of NT-status lands have been changed to Country Lease (CL) status, especially in urban areas. This is a very worrying development because it will result in the reduction of NT-status land and threaten Native land ownership.
“Therefore, KDCA is ready to cooperate with the Government and provide the necessary assistance towards the realisation of this good intention (expanding the conditions of land use for NT-status land),” he said.
Dr Jeffrey was reported in the media on February 11 as agreeing that the conditions of land use for NT-status land be expanded to include other activities such as industry and housing development, and not just limited to agriculture.
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