KOTA KINABALU, Aug 23 — The Sabah government has approved 51 plots of Native Title (NT) land totalling 98 hectares in Bandau, Kota Marudu for the community in the first batch land approvals for the northern district.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the grants were because the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-Barisan Nasional (GRS-BN) government was listening to the people’s wishes.

"This is only for Bandau. We will be doing the same for the other constituencies in Kota Marudu soon,” he said when speaking during a meet-the-people programme at the Bandau community hall here today.

He said the government also gave the green light for seven settlements inside Sawit Kinabalu land to be set aside and gazetted as kampung reserves.

These villages are Kampung Bukit Lalang, Bengkongan, Langkon Baru, Minansad, Sungoi Laut, Tonsom and Muhibbah, and Toporoi. Two villages in Bandau constituency were also gazetted as kampung reserves, namely Kampung Torintidon (11.5 hectares) and Kampung Asin-Asin (10.2 hectares).

Hajiji, who is state finance minister, said the government also approved a RM5 million allocation to expand the dual roadway in the Kota Marudu township to ease traffic congestion.

While visiting the Bandau Water Treatment Plant at Kampung Simpangan, he said that another RM1.6 million was approved for a 100-metre pipe bridge to address the water supply problem in the district.

He said he had spoken to Kota Marudu MP Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, who is also Parti Bersatu Sabah president, yesterday.

"I assured him that all requests for development will be considered,” he said.