SIBU: Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) has issued RM1 billion worth of dividend to landowners participating in its land development scheme since its establishment in 1976.
However, some RM10 million worth of dividends have yet to be claimed by some of the landowners.
Its chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said, most of the landowners are untraceable.
“This is quite strange. When other landowners have received their dividend, those landowners should have known about it and come to Salcra to claim their dividends,” said Uggah when met by reporters after the land clearing ceremony of Sekuau Oil Palm Plantation today.
Uggah, who is also Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister, said Salcra will seek the assistance of the community leaders and elected representatives to trace the landowners or their heirs.
To a question, Uggah said there will be no time frame for tracing the landowners or their heirs and their money will be kept by Salcra in its reserve until they or their heirs are found.
Meanwhile, on the Sekuau oil palm project under Salcra on 200 hectares of land, Uggah said Salcra will not do the extraction of valuable timbers in the area.
“The extraction will be carried out by other parties who must seek consent from the landowners and that the landowners must be paid,” said Uggah.
Apart from oil palm, he said Salcra is looking into developing livestock at its oil palm plantations, where at the moment it already has 2,000 heads of cattle.
Salcra is planning to set up a breeding farm which will target to produce 1,000 calves a year, he said.
Uggah said Salcra will also expand its wings to Upper Rajang Development Agency (URDA) areas and in Wak, Pakan. – Bernama
