Socio-cultural issues encountered in the implementation of land resettlement schemes

Abstract

Malaysia's New Economic Policy of eradicating poverty and restructuring of society to eliminate the identification of socio-cultural groups with socio-economic functions has been spearheaded by four strategies:- a. New land and resource development b. In-situ agricultural development c. Industrial dispersal d. Rural urbanization and the creation of new growth centres. The corporate organisation and the early objectives of Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB) involved the first strategy, namely, large scale agricultural and resource development for the resettlement of the disadvantaged/targeted groups to assist in the fulfilment of the New Economic Policy. This paper attempts to trace the philosophy and practice of large scale plantation type of development and then examine whether such a system could be applied in total to land resettlement scheme in Sabah. Ethnic origins of the settlers in relation to agronomic factors, year of intake, accessibility to town centre, conditions/circumstances of joining the resettlement scheme, their productivity and income from the sale of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) were discussed with the aid of a case study.