Annual report on Sarawak.

Date:
[1958]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on Sarawak. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    15/244 (page 5)
    s was assured by the importation of nearly twelve million clonal seeds from approved nurseries in Malaya and during the year almost two million clonal seedling stumps and germinated seeds were distributed from departmental nurseries to approved planters. In order to finance the expansion of the scheme during the coming years and to enable the payment of larger subsidies. Council Negri decided in December to approve the levying of a cess of two cents on every pound of rubber exported as from the first of January, 1959. This money will be paid directly into the Rubber Fund and used solely for the furtherance of the rubber industry. 1958 was another poor year for the pepper and sago industries with prices for these commodities remaining at a very low level, although somewhat higher than in 1957. Research into pepper diseases continued during the year and recom¬ mendations for the setting up of a marketing board for pepper awaits the arrival in 1959 of a marketing expert who has been engaged by the Government. Towards the end of the year it was decided to launch a subsidised coconut planting scheme in 1959 and a sum of $1,275,000 was set aside for this purpose. The Forestry Department increased the permanent forest estate by a further 186 square miles during the year bringing the total to 10,963 square miles or approximately 23 per cent of the land area of the country. Public interest in communal forests continues to grow; two of these were constituted during the year and four more were under preliminary proclamation. Ramin remained the most important timber export and although there was a severe recession in the market during the middle of the year it improved later. The export controls on ramin continued in force and undoubtedly brought considerable benefit to the trade and country alike. Exports for the year totalled 135,502 tons of ramin and 59,452 tons of other timbers valued at $19,568,542 f.o.b. 1 A major operation of the Lands and Survey Department was the introduction of the new Land Code which was brought into force on the 1st January. This entailed much organisation within the Department which also continued to press on with its policy of investigation of customary rights over land, with a view to alienating for permanent settlement by others genuinely in need such land as is shown to be surplus to the needs of the holders of the customary rights. On this basis several useful land