EU envoy to M’sia attends forum on NCR land

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FOR YOU: Sidi (left) presenting a souvenir to Vandebon as Chong (second left and See (right) look on. — Photo by jeffery mostapa

KUCHING: A forum on land, justice and human rights on the situation of the indigenous peoples in Sarawak was held here yesterday.

The half-day forum was attended by ambassador and head of the European Union delegation to Malaysia, Luc Vandebon.

Also present were Bandar Kuching MP and also Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen, Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How and Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) president Sidi Munan.

It was also attended by about 100 natives, mostly the NCR land owners. Grouses pertaining to land encroachment were
raised by the participants, particularly on the issuance of provisional lease (PL) by the government.

There was also a 14-minute slide show about the people in Melikin who defended their land rights.

Both Chong and See said they will continue to raise NCR land issues in the state legislative assembly (DUN) sittings and bring the cases to court to protect and fight for the ultimate rights of NCR landowners in the state.

They also said there were over 400 courts cases still ongoing, adding that NCR landowners have won many cases.

Vandebon said he had earlier attended a meeting with the state government.

“It is good to hear both sides of the story,” he pointed out.

In a statement distributed to the media, it stated that the number of disputes between the communities and the logging and palm oil companies continued to increase.

Consequently, various cases of alleged human rights violations purportedly commited by the police ad private companies against local leaders and anti-land grabbing activists were being reported, it stressed.

The statement added that amid the situation, achieving justice and upholding the human rights of the indigenous people remain a big challenge.

Sadia, a support group working with various communities has documented more than 200 cases of violations of NCR, it stressed.

“As indigenous people, the Dayaks are supposedly protected under the Constitution of Malaysia and the rights, particularly recognised as NCR in Sarawak.

“More so, Malaysia is a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP),” the statement said.