Access to land as an empowerment tool for low income people: An analysis of Temporary Occupational License (TOL) in Kuching, Sarawak

Kiky Kirina, Abdillah (2017) Access to land as an empowerment tool for low income people: An analysis of Temporary Occupational License (TOL) in Kuching, Sarawak. LIFEWAYS - International Journal of Society, Development and Environment in the Developing World, 1 (2). pp. 1-13. ISSN 2590-387X

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Abstract

Obtaining secure land tenure for housing is one of the biggest challenges faced by the lowincome urban households as well as the government in its effort to address urban poverty issues. In Malaysia, Temporary Occupational License (TOL) was introduced in order to solve or minimize the problems of land hunger and at the same time to open up opportunities for citizens especially from low-income background to enjoy the rights to utilize the land and its resources for their socio-economic benefits. Issuance of TOL by the government is usually made in tandem with the provision of land resettlement schemes programs, an initiative commonly used in developing countries to leverage low-income householdsǯ access to land for shelter and consequently as a booster for their socioeconomic development. This paper appraises the nature of the Malaysian TOL and the issues pertaining to it using the experience of residents who were involved in the Village Extension Schemes (SPK) and Resettlement Service Schemes (SPS) in Kuching. It was found that lack of good governance and proper land administration as well as high dependency on government assistance were some of the issues in need of proper redress. For future improvement of the program the study recommends inclusive roles for both institutional and non-state actors.

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