Extracted from Malaysiakini

Oil palm threat to NCR land
Tony Thien
Feb 21, 06 1:53pm

The Sarawak government had issued or approved leases for 1.27 million hectares of land to be opened up - mainly for oil palm planting - up to the third quarter of last year. This could hurt the interests of native landowners.

Sources, who provided malaysiakini with a copy of land office records, claimed that the bulk of the leases would enable large plantations to operate for periods of 60, 90 or 999 years.

The records also indicate that leases have been awarded to a number of prominent politicians or their relatives, some former senior civil servants in the state, and well-connected businessmen.

In all, 669 lots or leases have been issued for agricultural activities - including oil palm, rubber and tree plantations and orchards - in the nine divisions. Miri, Mukah and Bintulu account for the biggest share. (See Chart)

Many of the leases were issued in recent years covering previously-logged forest land, mainly in Miri, Bintulu and Kapit divisions.

Approval was also given for leases to be issued upon expiry of timber licences such as in Baram, which is part of Miri division, the sources said.

Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia with a total land area of 123,000 sq km. The state government had previously announced that it would allocate more land for oil palm cultivation, a major contributor of revenue.

The premiums paid or expected to be received from the issue of the leases would amount to more than RM500 million, said the sources.

The Sarawak government is said to be increasing the acreage under oil palm in anticipation of the use of palm oil for its planned bio-fuel plants.

In opening up more land, it has entered traditional farming and hunting land used by the Dayak community, like Iban, Orang Ulu and Bidayuh.

Impact on NCR land

Non-governmental organisations are particularly worried about the impact of these decisions on the status of native customary rights (NCR) land.

They said many NCR landowners are not aware that their land may be affected, since most have not seen the maps.

In recent years, an increasing number of disputes over alleged encroachment by timber and plantation companies into NCR land have been referred to the courts, most of these in the Miri, Bintulu, Kuching and Sri Aman divisions.

More than 100 cases are currently before the courts, with plaintiffs including Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu and Malays.

“As landowners become aware of what’s happening to their NCR land, more cases are likely to be taken to court,” said a spokesperson for the Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia).

A landmark case is that of a group of Iban longhouse residents led by Tuai Rumah Nor Nyawai, against the state government and a tree plantation company in Bintulu. This is pending disposal of a final appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that favoured the respondents.

NGOs like Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia, Indigenous Land Group and Sadia have been working closely with the indigenous communities to seek resolution of complaints.

Traditional hunting grounds have allegedly been worst affected in Baram and Belaga, with indigenous groups claiming they have been stopped from entering forest areas that have purportedly been licensed to plantation or logging companies.

Local environmentalists have claimed that the Sarawak government has not done enough to prevent environmental degradation, calling for primary forests to be preserved as in Peninsular Malaysia.

However, there are signs that the authorities have become aware of the need to protect bio-diversity, as well as to ensure that logging and plantation companies apply ‘best practice’ to minimise harm to the environment.