THURSDAY-6TH DECEMBER 2007-LAND DIVISION MUST BE DONE PROPERLY:EWON

Land division must be done properly: Ewon
RANAU: The division of land in villages applied for by either outsiders or the villagers must be done properly to avoid disputes or overlapping applications, said Industrial Development Minister Datuk Ewon Ebin. He said any land division exercise must take into account every detail and be fair to all applicants to avoid ownership disputes that would only complicate the issuance of land titles. “One of the biggest problems faced by the Land and Survey Department when issuing land titles is overlapping applications,” he said at the official declaration of the boundary for customary land between Kampung Tampios, Kampung Lungkidau and Kampung Paginatan. “To avoid such problems, leaders at the village level should monitor all applications for land in a more orderly manner through discussions with the applicants, especially regarding the location, land area and who is applying for the land.” Ewon also urged villagers to refrain from selling their land even if they do not have the financial means to work on it. He said it would be a better idea to develop their land in partnership with any interested company or just leave it idle for awhile. If they sell the land they would have nothing left to pass on to their children. Meanwhile, the ceremony involved leaders and residents of seven villages in the area, including Kampung Tampios, Kampung Lungkidau, Kampung Paginatan, Kampung Maringkan, Kampung Soborong, Kampung Bitoon and Kampung Toporoh. The spokesman for the seven villages, Lungkidau village head Paun Guintidong, said the declaration of the boundaries is aimed at facilitating more orderly and systematic division of land in their respective areas. He added that the boundaries would also make it easier for the village leaders to monitor the land which they claim had been repeatedly encroached by outsiders.