Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman today granted communal titles to 700 residents of the Nabawan district, Sabah.

At a ceremony in Nabawan, district officer Bubudan Majalu received the titles on behalf of the residents, most of whom were of Murut ethnicity.

kadazandusun harvest 090606 dancing Two of the grants were meant for plots of land in Sumatalun (1,100 hectares) and Sapulut (2,500 hectares). Each plot housed about 20 villages.

Musa said the awarding of communal titles, the first carried out in Sabah, was to ensure the people of the state could keep their land.

"Consider the grant as a gift from the Sabah Barisan Nasional government for the lucky residents of Pensiangan, in conjunction with the Kaamatan harvest festival," he said while launching Kampung Salarom Taka, situated about 90km from Nabawan town, as a new housing settlement.

Musa added that they would extend the granting of communal titles to other remote areas in Sabah where pockets of poverty existed.

- Bernama