KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Democratic Action Party (DAP) is urging the State Government to cancel its plan to relocate villagers in Kampung Cina, Tambunan to make way for a Youth and Sports Ministry’s project.
Its secretary cum Kapayan assemblyman, Dr Edwin Bosi, claimed that villagers were being forced out of their homes to allow for the construction of a hostel and swimming pool planned under the second phase of the Tambunan Sports Complex project, which is supposed to be completed by February next year.
According to Edwin, the villagers have come to seek help from DAP, claiming that the agencies concerned did not offer a fair compensation and acceptable relocation scheme for them.
He said the residents of Kampung Cina deserved better treatment and the government should spare the village, in respect of their sino-natives’ and natives’ rights to claim the land they have occupied for generations under Native Customary Rights (NCR).
He further argued that the village, which existence dated back to pre-independent era, should not be sacrificed in the name of development as it holds an important historical value for Tambunan.
Moreover, the government should consider the fact that the early dwellers and their children have helped built Tambunan in one way or another.
“Inter-marriages with the natives have established this village as an NCR land. The villagers deserve a caring friendly government that prides itself with the ‘people’s first’ slogan.
“I urge the Ministry of Youth and Sports to reconsider its decision to build the hostel and swimming pool at Kampung Cina. These two facilities can be built away from the stadium proper. They do not have to be adjacent to the stadium.
“I urge the government to reconsider the fact that Kampung Cina was established before Malaysia and the villagers comprise sino-natives and natives who are entitled to claim this land under NCR. By right, the government should have recognised the NCR status of the village,” he said in a statement yesterday.
According to Edwin, one of the villagers, Chan Wai Hiong and her two children, came to the Penampang DAP service centre in Donggongon early this month to seek advice and assistance concerning the issue.
Following Chan’s complaint, Edwin said he visited the village with several other DAP state committee members to investigate further.
“According to grandma Chan, who is now 90 years old, Kampung Cina used to hold about 13 households comprising more than 100 individuals. Grandma Chan was born in Penampang, married when she was 19 and moved to Tambunan on a pony to settle down with her husband, grandpa Yong Pak Choi, who passed away in 1986.
“Like the others, they made Kampung Cina their home working hard to have a decent living and raise their children. She recalled the Japanese planes that came dropping bombs and shooting at them. She even showed us the site of a crater made by a bomb. She cannot forget the thousands of empty shells from the machine guns raining down on them as she took cover in a nearby stream.
“The government had given Chan’s late husband a TOL (temporary occupational lease) to the land that he had applied for. He was told by the officers then not to bother as the land would never be taken away from them. According to grandma Chan, her husband had so much trust in the officers then which was the usual trademark of the administration.
“However, happiness has turned into a nightmare for grandma Chan. First, the TOL was abruptly discontinued, then came the bombshell when they were informed by the District Office that the land they are sitting on has been acquired and is now the property of the Ministry of Youth and Sports,” said Edwin.
According to him, the villagers were asked to move out to make way for the project during a meeting with the Tambunan District Council on September 10, 2012.
He said the villagers were offered low-cost houses at Kampung Galiung, Nambayan in return for leaving their homes but these units are sitting on a piece of land belonging to the Tambunan District Council with no title being ever given to those who are now staying there.
“According to grandma Chan, the council did not discuss about compensation but told them to pay about RM25,000 for the low-cost houses.
“Now that the six-post low-cost houses are occupied by others, the other villagers from Kampung Cina are offered plots that are still covered with thick vegetation.
“They have been asked by the council to clear the land and build their own houses. Worse, the District Office has asked them to move out, rent a house and slowly build their houses in Kampung Galiung,” he said.