Villagers claim NCR land encroached into

0

SARIKEI: Four villagers have claimed that their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land in Sungai Engklait, Bayong near here was encroached on by a timber company last October.

According to them, the company cut down their timber and fruit trees.

The villagers said they lodged separate reports on the alleged intrusion at the Jakar police station on Nov 23.

They are also seeking compensation from the timber company with Roselind Site Ubong demanding RM62,600, followed by Empalie Untai — RM33,200; Anjie Salang — RM26,650 and Stevenson Unggai Ubong — RM13,200.

According to the villagers, their land was supposed to be developed for an oil palm plantation by a government agency and the timber company was involved in the clearing work.

They claimed the timber company did not seek their consent before starting the clearing, and added that logging had polluted their river, which is their main source of water.

As no action seems to have been taken by the authorities in the past three months, the villagers sought assistance from Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarikei secretary Andrew Wong.

On Thursday, Wong brought reporters to the area where extracted logs were seen piled up.