NCR landowners win landmark cases

Kuching
Thursday, 21st January 2010

Two land owners won their respective court cases in the Kuching High Court today, the decisions of which may open a floodgate of civil actions against the Sarawak Government.

In the first case, Mohamad Rambli bin Kawi of Kampung Lintang sought declarations that he had acquired native customary rights over 51 parcels of NCR land situated at Loba Rambungan, Kuching.

He also sought a declaration that the extinguishment of his land under Section 5 (3) and (4) of the Sarawak Land Code was unconstitutional.

Following the extinguishment notice, Mohamad Rambli had on 9 September 2002 submitted his claims to the Land and Survey Department, but his claims was rejected.

The State Government rejected his claim arguing that the Malays in Sarawak did not have any native customary rights over land.

10 similar cases

In a landmark decision, High Court Judge David Wong allowed his claims and ordered the government to extinguish his rights over the land and pay compensation in accordance with law.

About 10 cases of similar nature involving the Malays are now before the court.

In the case of Agi anak Bungkong, he sued the government on behalf of 196 Iban families from 15 longhouses over NCR land in and around their longhouses in Selezu, Setulai and Sepadok in the Sebauh District, Bintulu.

They claimed that they had native customary rights over those lands which, to them, were more than just lands but which constituted their life, and from where they derived food, valuable medicines, wildlife and natural produce for their livelihood and sustenance.

They cultivated padi, fruit trees, rubber, cocoa and other essential and crops on those lands. Hence, they argued that NCR land, comprising lands and forests, were not just a source of livelihood but life itself.

They said that their NCR over their lands was recognised in and by law and expressly acknowledged and honoured by the government of the day.

However, possibly due to an act of recklessness and negligence of the 4th defendant (Land and Survey Department) and the 5th defendant (the State Government) or in disregard of the plaintiffs' acquired, vested or accrued rights in the native customary land, two provisional leases over Lot 2 Block 4 Selezu Land District and Lot 2 Block 34 Kemena Land District were issued to the 2nd defendant (Lembaga Tabung Haji) and 3rd defendant (Semai Mekar Sdn Bhd) on 2 December 1996.

The said provisional leases covered and included a substantial part of the plaintiffs' said NCR land.

Order to ratify NCR lands

High Court Judge David Wong granted that the plaintiffs have native customary rights over the lands they cleared.

The judge ordered that the NCR lands should be ratified and excluded from the provisional leases.

The plaintiffs must be given vacant possessions forthwith, he said.

For the two cases, the judge ordered that damages for the plaintiffs to be assessed at 4% interest per annum from the date of encroachment to the date of judgment and 8% from the date of judgment to the realization of the payment.

Costs to the plaintiffs are to be assessed by the court.

The two cases were represented by Messrs Baru Bian, Advocates & Solicitors.

Personally Bukittunggal.com would like to congratulate the two NCR land owners for winning the case, and to Sdra Baru Bian for successfully defends the rights of the NCR landowners.

BRAVO Sdra Baru Bian!

Mupok Aku

Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban

Breaking News-Demolition Of Rumah Nor ak Nyawai

TR Nor anak Nyawai and his "anembiaks" have been fighting for their NCR lands fo decade and their fights end on 19th January 2010, when their longhouse was demolished by the Land Survey department.

According to reliable source to Bukittunggal.com, on 19.01.2010 at Tatau sub-district, the Land and Survey enforcement team from all over Sarawak with few trucks of Army personnel and policemen went to demolish houses without prior notice to the landowners at Sg. Sekabai, Sebauh Bintulu. This particular land (the territorial domain) had been won by Tr. Nor Ak Nyawai and some others at the Malaysian Court few years ago. But unfortunately, how did the Company manage to convince the Court to approve for the eviction order is always remain a mystery to so many Indigenous peoples in Sarawak.

According to the source, the enforcement personnel managed to demolished about 25 houses with all their belongings inside were destroyed indiscriminately for more than 4 hours of ugly service to the said 'company'. The way how the government agencies handle the matter look like that the Ibans (Indigenous Peoples) have no more right to their own land and the companies seem to have more rights and surely own more land everywhere. Who own these big companies in Sarawak?

The Indigenous people of Sg. Sekabai were still in the state of shock because of what had happened to their houses and properties. Most of the occupants were left without any place to live right now and all their belongings were also intentionally destroyed by the enforcement. In Haiti peoples and properties were destroyed by natural disaster but strangely in Sarawak we are 'giving human disaster' to our own peoples without mercy.

Our source added, "The people of rumah Tr. Nor of Sg. Sekabai had a meeting yesterday night and I was there with them. Everyone looked very angry, very disappointed and very down as they lost their properties just within seconds by the enforcement. They did not only cut the houses but they smashed them with the tractors into pieces to the ground. They all agreed to stay put on the ground at Sg. Sekabai to prevent these 'demolishers' continue their barbaric act these few days!"
This is not the first incident of the longhouse being evicted merciless by government agencies (off course under the direction of Sarawak Barisan Nasional). In January 2007, a longhouse known as Rumah Nyawin along the Bakun-Bintulu road was bulldozed leaving more than 100 native people homeless.

The video can be seen below:

Despite all these cruelty and inhumane treatment against them by Barisan Nasional government but the Iban/dayak still support  them. Are we that stupid ? Or are we COWARD?

I am urging the Iban readers out there to spread the news on what happened to TR Nor ak Nyawai and his anembiak because sooner or later, the same incident may happen to the rest of us, especially with the new land development concept being implemented by the BN government in Sarawak.

The state election is just around the corner. If we especially the Ibans dont want to be evicted from our own land, we must evict BN government by VOTE THEM OUT....Remember to vote for PAKATAN RAKYAT!

 

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"Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban"