KUCHING: Putrajaya’s decision to return land leased to it by the Sarawak government which had not been developed for over five years is going down well in the state.
Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah on Wednesday welcomed the federal government’s decision.
“Some of these lands have not been developed for 15 or 20 years but when they (federal) applied (for the land) under the pretext of developing the land for the purpose of setting up their headquarters or their agency (building), it was never done throughout the years.
“A good example is the land adjacent to the Sarawak Sports Complex, it should have been used to house the state police headquarters.
“However, the plan was never followed through despite the land being alienated and registered under the federal land commissioner (FLC),” he told a press conference after the pre-launch of International Museum Day 2023 at a shopping mall here.
The federal government had in April agreed to hand back a total of 54 of the 218 lots of land to Sarawak leased by the state government.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan had previously stated that Sarawak remains firm in its stance that the agreed principles of land return, discussed in the previous Malaysia Agreement Special Council meeting, should be implemented without imposing additional bureaucracy.
In a related matter, h hoped the General Post Office building at Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg here will be returned to the state government since it contains heritage value.
