STAR WILL ESTABLISH LAND COMMISSION

By : KANUL GINDUL

STATE Reform Party (STAR), the main proponent of United Borneo Alliance (UBA), said a state government it leads would definitely establish a State Land Commission and land tribunal, given a chance to form the state government at the coming general election.

STAR Sabah chapter chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, in a statement today said a STAR-led UBA agrees to the suggestion made recently by the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri Ricard Malanjum, that a land tribunal fashioned to the Waitangi Tribunal should be established in Sabah.

"We would also decentralise land management under a five states or provinces administration, giving power to Ketua Kampungs and Native Courts to scrutinise land applications," he said.

Dr Jeffrey said the role of Ketua Kampung in evaluating land applications would be restored and that inherent native rights would be be given priority and taken into consideration.

"We will also give priority to recognising native rights including the documentation of native customary rights in the land and survey mapping which will be based on demographic survey.

"The demographic survey would enable us to recognise which are native settlements and which are not," he said.

Meanwhile, at the launching of STAR in Pitas recently, Dr Jeffrey had said STAR opposed the proposed listing of FELDA as this would pave for anyone to own lands currently alienated to FELDA in Sabah.

"There are 300,000 acres of FELDA land in Sabah, and if FELDA is listed on the stock exchange, anyone can own FELDA land eventually, and Sabahans do not want this," he said in Pitas.