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Jun
17,
The
large number of legal cases brought by native customary rights (NCR) claimants
against Sarawak state authorities and companies issued either with logging
permits or oil-palm land leases shows clearly that ‘something, somewhere is
gravely wrong with the way the state government is handling the NCR land
issue’, an opposition elected representative told the state legislative
assembly.
There
are about 130 such litigation cases before the courts,
Chiew Chin Sing (DAP-Kidurong) said, adding that the seriousness of the issue
following growing conflicts on the ground and causing hardships to both natives
and investors concerned should be addressed and resolved quickly.
He said the state government had already lost two
important cases – the Rumah Nor case at Sekabai, Bintulu and the Kampung
Nyalau, Bintulu case where the government had been ordered to pay damages
likely to be in the tune of RM70 million when it is assessed by the court
eventually.
“Where will the state government find this kind of money
to pay? There are over one hundred more cases filed in the court pending
hearing and judgment,” he added.
According to the DAP legislator, many of the native lands
had their boundaries marked according to the decree of the Rajah via Order No
12 where they were told to identify their boundaries according to the rivers.
“The Land and Survey Department has thus done the
composite plan showing distribution of native land 1954. But why is it then
that today the department is still issuing provisional leases over these lands
to plantation companies and others?’
“I wonder whether corruption is an issue here,” Chiew
said, adding that “I am not saying this (corruption) in jest, for I bear in
mind that according to the ACA, local councils and the Land and Survey
Department are the most corrupt departments.’
Many disputes had arisen following violations of native
laws, cultures and traditions.
In order to reduce the problem, he said the government
should survey all native lands and issue NCR lands with official documents
certifying the natives’ rights over their lands.
He also said compensation of NCR land acquired by the
government should be paid according to current market rate and not limited to
available crops and properties on the land.
Greenpeace’s
statement
On a new law passed in the state assembly several years to
survey and register NCR land, Chiew said little had been heard of its progress
and the status of the work.
“I have not even heard that a NCR land registry has been
put in place. I hope I am wrong in this,” he added.
Chiew believed that if native lands had already been
surveyed and issued with titles, conflicts like the Penan bringing the
government and timber conglomerate Samling Group to court over logging
operations in the Sela’an Linau area could have been avoided.
The case, he added, had caused Greenpeace to release a
statement on May17, 2005 in Amsterdam, raising its concerns over the serious
gaps in the certification standards of the Malaysian Timber Certification
Council (MTCC) among which is the protest by the indigenous people, including
the Penan tribe.
“This kind of issue brought up by Greenpeace is not good
at all for our timber and timber products overseas and is bad for our state
economy,” Chiew warned.