3/7/06 (daily Express News)  - THE Rural Development Ministry has been directed to explain the present status of the oil palm plantation earmarked for the hardcore poor eradication programme (PPRT) project to assist local villagers in Tongod near Sandakan six years ago.

"He (Minister Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan) will give you the details because the development is not on 17,000 acres³t is just around 3,000 to 4,000 acres," said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

Musa said this when asked to comment on the PPRT project applicants' call for the relevant authorities on their application status, which they were asked to submit in 2000 for the land that would be developed by Borneo Samudera for the PPRT project.

The project applicants from seven villages led by Aming bin Asing of Kampung Kiliwatong, Tongod brought up the issue to Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Supreme Council member, Johnny Mositun, on Sunday.

The project was launched by then Chief Minister Datuk Osu Sukam on Sept. 4, 2000.

"What made them puzzle was that the agency was already harvesting the oil palm but they are still in the dark about their applications submitted more nearly six years ago," said Mositun.

According to Musa, the Rural Development Ministry would be holding a meeting with the relevant agencies like Sawit Kinabalu, which owned Borneo Samudera and the Land and Surveys Department to discuss the matter and provide the explanation.