KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah State Legislative Assembly has passed a Bill that clears the way for over 16,700ha of forest reserves to be degazetted for rural settlements and strategic development.
The Forest Enactment (Constitution of Forest Reserves and Amendment) (Amendment) 2025 Bill, tabled by Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan, was approved by voice vote on Tuesday (July 8).
It seeks to legalise long-standing village communities, provide space for the construction of the Serudong-Simanggaris Immigration, Customs, quarantine and security (ICQS) complex near the Malaysia-Indonesia border, and support the state’s broader socioeconomic development goals.
It will affect parts of 10 forest reserves in seven districts, namely Sipitang, Tenom, Kemabong, Tawau, Kalabakan, Ranau and Pitas, impacting 40 villages with a combined population of over 12,000.
“These communities have occupied these areas for years, and this amendment is crucial to formalise their settlements and enable them to receive infrastructure support,” Nizam said when tabling the Bill.
Among the areas affected is a 15,978ha portion of the Sipitang Forest Reserve (Class II), the largest to be degazetted under the amendment.
Other affected reserves include those classified as protection (Class I), commercial (Class II), amenity (Class IV), mangrove (Class V), and virgin jungle reserves (Class VI).
The Bill also facilitates the administration of a forest area in Kinarut by the Sabah Forestry Development Authority (Safoda) and makes provisions for other areas already used for settlements, schools and livelihood activities to be formally removed from forest reserve status.
To allay environmental concerns, the government stressed that the degazettement would not significantly affect Sabah’s forest cover, reducing the total gazetted forest reserve area by only 0.47%, from 3.575 million hectares to 3.558 million hectares.
It also pledged to gazette new forest reserves of equivalent size and quality to maintain Sabah’s commitment to keeping 50% of its land under forest cover, in line with its 2018 Forest Policy and international environmental obligations.
Additionally, the government said it is on track to designate 30% of the state as Totally Protected Areas (TPAs) by the end of this year, through separate gazettement efforts under Section 5A of the Forest Enactment 1968.
During the debate, Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob (GRS-Sindumin) voiced support for the Bill, calling it a long-awaited solution that addresses decades of uncertainty faced by rural communities living in forest reserves.
“For too long, these villagers lived in fear, not knowing if they could stay, build homes or develop infrastructure. With this Bill, that fear ends,” he said, describing the amendment as a “gift” to the people of Sipitang.
Yusof also urged the government to ensure that villages such as Kampung Pakiak, Tunas Baru, Meligan, Long Pasia, and others in his constituency were included in the gazetted areas, along with provisions for structured planning.
He called for the land to be properly divided into residential lots, public amenities and agricultural plots to support sustainable livelihoods.
Datuk Jannie Lasimbang (PH-Kapayan) supported the Bill in principle but urged the government to expedite the gazetting of affected villages to prevent land grabs or disputes.
She called for more clarity on land allocation and greater collaboration with local communities in developing the areas.
“We must ensure that those who truly deserve the land are not pushed out by outsiders.
"The process must be transparent and inclusive,” she said, while requesting a detailed list of affected villages and their respective land sizes.
Datuk Masiung Banah (GRS-Kuamut) backed the Bill but stressed that effective implementation is key. He cautioned that past degazettements had led to frustration when villagers found their homes left out during land surveying exercises.
“What we approve in the state assembly must match what happens on the ground. In the past, villagers found their homes were still left out even after the forest reserve was degazetted,” he said, urging the government to allocate special funds for proper land measurement before the current term ends.
He also raised the case of Kampung Pinangah, a large village with limited land surrounded by Yayasan Sabah-owned land, and asked whether such land could also be considered for redistribution to meet growing population demands.
