Forest squatters issue in the glare, again
Joe FernandezPublished: Jun 4, 2009 9:41 AM | Updated: Jun 4, 2009 10:09 AM
A long-standing issue on native forest squatters came into the spotlight again when 2,500 people in nine villages at the Pedalaman division in Sabah were recently told to leave by the authorities.
"How are we to move out if we have lived here for generations? asked Jemalis Sarumpik, former Pedalaman JKKK (Village Security and Development Committee) secretary.
A long-standing issue on native forest squatters came into the spotlight again when 2,500 people in nine villages at the Pedalaman division in Sabah were recently told to leave by the authorities.
"How are we to move out if we have lived here for generations? asked Jemalis Sarumpik, former Pedalaman JKKK (Village Security and Development Committee) secretary.
"Where are we going to go? What will we do?"
Located in Dalit and Bonor, these villages consisted of seven schools and cemeteries. Bonor is within the Mandalom Forest Reserve which was gazetted in 1961, before there were any settlements therein, according to the Forestry Department (FD).
Sook assistant sub-district officer, Peter Beaty, confirmed eviction orders were issued but could not say whether the eviction could be postponed - as speculated - for the time being.
Sarumpik, who was together with Sook Sabah People's Progressive Party (Sapp) Co-ordinator Engah Sintan, disclosed that FD staff came to the villages and ordered residents to move out because the land was a forest reserve.
"We are not against the government," said Jemalis Sarumpik, former Pedalaman JKKK (Village Security and Development Committee) secretary. "We hope the matter can be resolved soon."
"We applied for the land 40 years ago but there were complications."
Informed by the FD and the Land and Survey Department (LSD), he said he wasn't able to explain what the complications were. For Bonor at least, it is known that the status quo has been allowed provided that "there is no further expansion and no illegal or foreign workers are engaged".
Lacking political will
Native squatters in forest reserves has remained a protracted issue, which had been blown hot and cold over the years due to lack of a political will. Successive state governments had failed to find an agreeable solution.
However, there is now a greater sense of urgency as renewed demands for a humane solution had resurfaced.
The FD claimed it has nothing against traditional villagers living in forest areas and complying with the law except for those who employ illegal immigrants to work in the forest reserve areas.
Between 2003 and 2006, the FD arrested 732 suspects for illegal encroachment. Of the figure, 64 percent were illegal immigrants and the rest were mostly those who were in cahoots with the illegal immigrants.
The opposition parties in Sabah had joined government leaders in making an impassioned plea on the plight of the native forest squatters.
"The government should by now have solutions to resolve the longstanding problem of local communities living in forest reserve areas," said Jeffrey Gimpoi Kitingan, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president.
His view was shared by Pensiangan MP Joseph Kurup and Tenom MP Raimie Unggi.
A brewing crisis
Alienating land from the forest reserves might be a part of the solutions. Additional measures could include demarcation of the settlements from forest reserves, allowing village communities to utilise the land and change the way land applications are processed, Kitingan said. A more accurate mapping system would help too, Kurup added.
"These measures would recognise the rights of the natives living in these areas. Besides, it would offer socio-economic development such as education, livelihood, and basic amenities," he added.
There are fears that through the Forest Management Units' (FMU) actions, it would affect the traditional villages and people's rights in certain areas.
"I still remember that when I was Chief Minister, about 40,000 native title lands were processed and approved during my time," said Yong Teck Lee, Sapp President and former Sabah Chief Minister.
"The real objective of the FMU was to curb excessive clearing of the forest apart from protecting the ecosystem in the long run."
A clearer picture of the extent of the problems posed by native squatters in forest reserves is expected to emerge during a two-year audit by an independent party of FMU.
Lawyers said that existing laws in fact allow certain categories of native communities to clear forest land and/or take produce. These natives are those "whose ancestors have been, and who themselves are dependent on shifting cultivation in Sabah for subsistence". Others such as trespassers, risk fines reaching RM500,000 and a jail term of 20 years, if convicted.
Meanwhile, the Land and Survey Department pointed out that native squatters in forest reserves are not the only ones facing the wrath of the state government. Those with titles to their land are also being hauled up for breaching land use conditions in their titles.
"How are we to move out if we have lived here for generations? asked Jemalis Sarumpik, former Pedalaman JKKK (Village Security and Development Committee) secretary.
"Where are we going to go? What will we do?"
Located in Dalit and Bonor, these villages consisted of seven schools and cemeteries. Bonor is within the Mandalom Forest Reserve which was gazetted in 1961, before there were any settlements therein, according to the Forestry Department (FD). Sook assistant sub-district officer, Peter Beaty, confirmed eviction orders were issued but could not say whether the eviction could be postponed - as speculated - for the time being.
Sarumpik, who was together with Sook Sabah People's Progressive Party (Sapp) Co-ordinator Engah Sintan, disclosed that FD staff came to the villages and ordered residents to move out because the land was a forest reserve.
"We are not against the government," said Jemalis Sarumpik, former Pedalaman JKKK (Village Security and Development Committee) secretary. "We hope the matter can be resolved soon."
"We applied for the land 40 years ago but there were complications."
Informed by the FD and the Land and Survey Department (LSD), he said he wasn't able to explain what the complications were. For Bonor at least, it is known that the status quo has been allowed provided that "there is no further expansion and no illegal or foreign workers are engaged".
Lacking political will
Native squatters in forest reserves has remained a protracted issue, which had been blown hot and cold over the years due to lack of a political will. Successive state governments had failed to find an agreeable solution. However, there is now a greater sense of urgency as renewed demands for a humane solution had resurfaced.
The FD claimed it has nothing against traditional villagers living in forest areas and complying with the law except for those who employ illegal immigrants to work in the forest reserve areas.
Between 2003 and 2006, the FD arrested 732 suspects for illegal encroachment. Of the figure, 64 percent were illegal immigrants and the rest were mostly those who were in cahoots with the illegal immigrants.
The opposition parties in Sabah had joined government leaders in making an impassioned plea on the plight of the native forest squatters.
"The government should by now have solutions to resolve the longstanding problem of local communities living in forest reserve areas," said Jeffrey Gimpoi Kitingan, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president.
His view was shared by Pensiangan MP Joseph Kurup and Tenom MP Raimie Unggi. A brewing crisis
Alienating land from the forest reserves might be a part of the solutions. Additional measures could include demarcation of the settlements from forest reserves, allowing village communities to utilise the land and change the way land applications are processed, Kitingan said. A more accurate mapping system would help too, Kurup added.
"These measures would recognise the rights of the natives living in these areas. Besides, it would offer socio-economic development such as education, livelihood, and basic amenities," he added.
There are fears that through the Forest Management Units' (FMU) actions, it would affect the traditional villages and people's rights in certain areas.
"I still remember that when I was Chief Minister, about 40,000 native title lands were processed and approved during my time," said Yong Teck Lee, Sapp President and former Sabah Chief Minister.
"The real objective of the FMU was to curb excessive clearing of the forest apart from protecting the ecosystem in the long run."
A clearer picture of the extent of the problems posed by native squatters in forest reserves is expected to emerge during a two-year audit by an independent party of FMU.Lawyers said that existing laws in fact allow certain categories of native communities to clear forest land and/or take produce. These natives are those "whose ancestors have been, and who themselves are dependent on shifting cultivation in Sabah for subsistence". Others such as trespassers, risk fines reaching RM500,000 and a jail term of 20 years, if convicted.
Meanwhile, the Land and Survey Department pointed out that native squatters in forest reserves are not the only ones facing the wrath of the state government. Those with titles to their land are also being hauled up for breaching land use conditions in their titles.
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