Another Sarawak NCR land drama
Tony ThienPublished: Jun 23, 2009 9:54 AM | Updated: Jun 23, 2009 11:06 AM
Native Berawan landowners who are opposing a government-approved re-afforestation and oil palm planting project in the Long Terawan area of Mulu in Sarawak may have failed in their attempt recently to derail a signing ceremony.
Native Berawan landowners who are opposing a government-approved re-afforestation and oil palm planting project in the Long Terawan area of Mulu in Sarawak may have failed in their attempt recently to derail a signing ceremony.
But they have pledged to continue with their protest. This pledge was given today by the action committee led by Willie Kajan, which represents the majority of Berawan NCR land owners who are against the project.
They also argued that the details of the agreement have never been made known to them and no parameter survey has been carried out on their NCR land said to run into thousands of hectares.
When officials from Pusaka KTS Plantation Sdn Bhd and the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) flew in by helicopter on Saturday to Kampung Long Terawan for the signing ceremony, they were greeted by a few hundred protestors.
The protestors had come from various parts of the Miri Division earlier by boats as far as Miri. They carried posters stating: “We want Pusaka KTS to recognise our communal native land rights”, “Don’t cheat indigenous people”, “Don’t steal our NCR land” and “NCR land is the wealth of our indigenous people”.
The VIPs, including STIDC general manager Talif @ Len Salleh, who is also a director of the company and some village heads walked past the protestors on their way to the hall where the signing took place.
Parameter survey to be carried out
Later, Kampung Long Terawan chief Edmund Abang signed on behalf of the villagers witnessed by two Orang Ulu councillors Gary Hashim Wan and Aub Ngang in the presence Penghulu Herbert Lawai and Talif signed on behalf of the joint venture company witnessed by the company’s chief security officer Vincent Chapman, a former police officer.
Malaysiakini understands the agreement provides for a parameter survey to be carried out to determine the actual boundary of the NCR land.
The project will be implemented on the basis of what is called Konsep Baru that gives the NCR landowners 30 per cent equity in the joint venture project, with 60 per cent held by the investor company and10 per cent by a managing agent.
A number of projects involving the cultivation of oil palm on NCR land and also based on Konsep Baru has received negative feedback and native landowners have been unhappy with the results. The landowners are saying they are not getting a fair deal.
Willie Kajan (right) told Malaysiakini today that the landowners have not even been shown a copy of the agreement before the signing on Saturday.
“Somehow despite the protest against the signing of the agreement between the village of Long Terawan Tutoh, Baram and Pusaka KTS, the community leaders from Long Terawan went ahead with the signing on behalf of the people from Long Terawan,” he said, adding that “the majority of the Long Terawan residents, however, regard the agreement as null and void”.
“We the indigenous people of Long Terawan will continue our protest and will not give up our struggle to defend our NCR land.”
The downtrodden natives of Sarawak
Commenting on the latest development in Long Terawan, Sarawak’s leading NCR lawyer Baru Bian (right) told Malaysiakini “the issue is just a clear example of the BN government's policy of grabbing and taking the peoples’ NCR land”.
“I hope the natives of Sarawak will not be hoodwinked by the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s recent statement that the BN government is not taking away NCR land from the natives,” he added.
“This is the main issue for the upcoming state election and the native “Yang Berhormats” in BN had never raised a finger nor uttered a breath to criticise this policy of the political master they serve to this day,” said Baru, who is also a PKR supreme council and political bureau member.
“I just hope and pray that Almighty God will vindicate us, we, the downtrodden natives of Sarawak.
“God willing, the people of Sarawak will be courageous and be brave to make a change in the coming state election,” he said.
Baru whose firm is handling more than one hundred NCR land cases, said he doubted any agreement signed by the headman “on behalf of the people” without the actual agreement of the longhouse people could stand in a court of law.
“Further, Section 8 of the Land Code Sarawak nullify such an agreement,” the Orang Ulu lawyer pointed out.
But they have pledged to continue with their protest. This pledge was given today by the action committee led by Willie Kajan, which represents the majority of Berawan NCR land owners who are against the project. They also argued that the details of the agreement have never been made known to them and no parameter survey has been carried out on their NCR land said to run into thousands of hectares.
When officials from Pusaka KTS Plantation Sdn Bhd and the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) flew in by helicopter on Saturday to Kampung Long Terawan for the signing ceremony, they were greeted by a few hundred protestors.
The protestors had come from various parts of the Miri Division earlier by boats as far as Miri. They carried posters stating: “We want Pusaka KTS to recognise our communal native land rights”, “Don’t cheat indigenous people”, “Don’t steal our NCR land” and “NCR land is the wealth of our indigenous people”.
The VIPs, including STIDC general manager Talif @ Len Salleh, who is also a director of the company and some village heads walked past the protestors on their way to the hall where the signing took place.
Parameter survey to be carried out
Later, Kampung Long Terawan chief Edmund Abang signed on behalf of the villagers witnessed by two Orang Ulu councillors Gary Hashim Wan and Aub Ngang in the presence Penghulu Herbert Lawai and Talif signed on behalf of the joint venture company witnessed by the company’s chief security officer Vincent Chapman, a former police officer.
Malaysiakini understands the agreement provides for a parameter survey to be carried out to determine the actual boundary of the NCR land.
The project will be implemented on the basis of what is called Konsep Baru that gives the NCR landowners 30 per cent equity in the joint venture project, with 60 per cent held by the investor company and10 per cent by a managing agent.
A number of projects involving the cultivation of oil palm on NCR land and also based on Konsep Baru has received negative feedback and native landowners have been unhappy with the results. The landowners are saying they are not getting a fair deal.
Willie Kajan (right) told Malaysiakini today that the landowners have not even been shown a copy of the agreement before the signing on Saturday.“Somehow despite the protest against the signing of the agreement between the village of Long Terawan Tutoh, Baram and Pusaka KTS, the community leaders from Long Terawan went ahead with the signing on behalf of the people from Long Terawan,” he said, adding that “the majority of the Long Terawan residents, however, regard the agreement as null and void”.
“We the indigenous people of Long Terawan will continue our protest and will not give up our struggle to defend our NCR land.”
The downtrodden natives of Sarawak
Commenting on the latest development in Long Terawan, Sarawak’s leading NCR lawyer Baru Bian (right) told Malaysiakini “the issue is just a clear example of the BN government's policy of grabbing and taking the peoples’ NCR land”.
“I hope the natives of Sarawak will not be hoodwinked by the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s recent statement that the BN government is not taking away NCR land from the natives,” he added.“This is the main issue for the upcoming state election and the native “Yang Berhormats” in BN had never raised a finger nor uttered a breath to criticise this policy of the political master they serve to this day,” said Baru, who is also a PKR supreme council and political bureau member.
“I just hope and pray that Almighty God will vindicate us, we, the downtrodden natives of Sarawak.
“God willing, the people of Sarawak will be courageous and be brave to make a change in the coming state election,” he said.
Baru whose firm is handling more than one hundred NCR land cases, said he doubted any agreement signed by the headman “on behalf of the people” without the actual agreement of the longhouse people could stand in a court of law.
“Further, Section 8 of the Land Code Sarawak nullify such an agreement,” the Orang Ulu lawyer pointed out.
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