MIRI: The village of Long Seniai, Ulu Sungai Akah, Ulu Baram is having the Native Customary Rights (NCR) land perimeter survey under the government’s ‘NCR New Initiative’ carried out.


Surveyors carrying out perimeter works in Long Seniai.


Lihan (left) with Land and Survey Department personnel.

Its security and development committee (JKKK) treasurer Lihan Ding Ngau, 59, said the villagers saw the survey as a good opportunity and a turning point for them to work their idle land and for future development in the area.

“We are happy with the government’s initiative to conduct a perimeter survey in Long Seniai, Ulu Singai Akah and sincerity towards helping the people to claim their rights,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.

“We are happy that the survey has been conducted to safeguard our rights of having our ancestral land intact.”

He said the village’s NCR land perimeter survey application was submitted last year and approved this month.

Lihan explained that villagers agreed with the government’s procedures to survey their NCR land involving 3,816ha surrounding the village, which would later involve surveying individual plots.

On Aug 11, a team of Land and Survey Department personnel started doing survey work including using the Global Positioning System.

JKKK members and villagers assisted the personnel in a ‘gotong-royong’.

The Land and Survey Department had on March 27 held a dialogue with the villagers, where everyone agreed in principle to proceed with the NCR New Initiative.

Long Seniai is a 30-door Kayan longhouse located nearly 300km from here.