KUCHING: The Land Code (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which will be introduced during the Second Meeting of the First Session of the 19th State Legislative Assembly (DUN), will not address Native Customary Rights (NCR) issues.
The aforementioned Bill would be introduced by Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63, and State-Federal Relations), with the second and third readings of the amended Bill scheduled for May 18.
DUN Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar assured that the amending Bill has nothing to do with the state’s NCR.
“Be rest assured that this Bill has nothing to do with NCR. It is totally new. You would not expect it,” he said in a press conference after attending the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) pre-council meeting chaired by Premier Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg at the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Headquarters in Jalan Bako here, today.
Asfia declined to elaborate further on the Bills, noting that it was best to leave this to the ministers to elaborate and deliberate during the sitting.
“This is a very sophisticated Bill with far reaching implications and ramifications.
“It gravitates around the definition of what land is,” he said.
On the Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which will be tabled by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Asfia said this Bill is equally sophisticated with wide implication on the expansion of the definition of timber produce.
“These two Bills, which are related in more ways than one, have never been done before.
“They have wide implications and this is the first time for any state in Malaysia to introduce these Bills.
“It’s far too sophisticated and wide-ranging for me to summarise. The connotations will vary when I rephrase it,” he explained.
He congratulated the Premier for his foresight with ideas and concept on these Bills as well as Datuk Seri JC Fong, being the state legal advisor and former attorney-general who worked hand-in-hand with the current State Attorney-General’s Office to come up with the Bills.
“This has never been done before. Extraordinary. It is like casting a stone into a lake. The ripples will go far,” he pointed out.
