1.300 land titles issued as Arthur makes long-overdue land claims a priority

By Mohd Khairy Abdullah
Editor-in-Residence
Pensiangan, Sabah

SOOK, Sabah, Oct 21, 2026 — Resolving long-outstanding land applications has been a key priority for Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup since his election as Sook assemblyman late last year. The effort has resulted in the issuance of 1,300 land titles to eligible applicants, but cases involving overlapping claims and ownership disputes still require further scrutiny before they can be resolved.

“During the first six months of my service as an assemblyman, resolving these 1,300 land titles was an important achievement in helping people who had been waiting for so long,” he said.

Arthur, who is also Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, said he had raised delays in land title issuance in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly through motions and debates before bringing the matter to Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor.

In May, he invited Hajiji to Sook to officiate at the handover of 1,300 land titles to applicants who had waited years for their applications to be resolved.

Arthur said the titles covered several categories of applications, including individual titles and titles issued under land schemes, involving a combined area of several thousand hectares.

However, he acknowledged that some applications remained unresolved, particularly those involving competing claims to the same parcels of land.

Some cases involved between two and six applicants claiming the same area, while others also involved companies or government-linked companies (GLCs), Arthur said.

Such cases require detailed examination by the Sabah Lands and Surveys Department before decisions can be made, ensuring that claims are assessed against the relevant facts, records and procedures.

The cases may undergo a land inquiry, involving field inspections, surveying work and a review of the history and background of the land in question.

“As the elected representative, I prioritise the applications and needs of village residents,” he said.

Arthur said the interests of local communities should receive due consideration when land claims are assessed, including cases involving companies or GLCs, subject to lawful procedures and relevant considerations.

He did not set a specific deadline for resolving all cases involving overlapping claims, saying the process depended on the findings of investigations and technical assessments by the Sabah Lands and Surveys Department.

Applications that are complete and undisputed, however, should be processed more quickly to prevent unnecessary delays in issuing land titles, he said.

Separately, efforts to process village gazettement applications in Sook have also made progress, with 17 of the 30 identified applications completed, while the remainder are still undergoing the necessary procedures.

Gazettement provides formal recognition of village areas and helps identify settlements that should be preserved in the interests of residents and future generations.

It also provides a basis for more structured village administration, including the appointment of local leaders and development planning.

However, village gazettement is a separate administrative process from the issuance of individual land titles and the resolution of ownership claims. Each may involve different documentation requirements, technical assessments and considerations.

For residents still awaiting decisions on their land applications, the main challenge remains resolving disputed cases while speeding up the processing of complete applications that face no outstanding objections.

The issuance of 1,300 land titles marks progress in addressing long-standing land issues in Sook. But resolving the remaining applications will depend on the authorities’ ability to settle disputes through lawful procedures while ensuring that undisputed applications do not remain unnecessarily delayed.