KENINGAU: Twenty seven village heads from Mukim Dalit, Sook have submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman protesting the alleged granting of permit to three private companies to develop some 6,589 hectares of land in the Mandalom, near here.
Kampung Karamatoi village head, Takapan Akam, said the memorandum of protest represented the voices of 5,000 villagers in the affected areas.
“We were told that the three companies have received approval from the State Cabinet to open up the land for oil palm plantation development in Mandalom, Dalit, in Sook.
“Although communal titles were given to us, there are still many people who have not received it yet and those who have got were given six to eight acres only.
“At the last election, we were promised that the authorities would give us an additional grant in the issuance of communal grants Phase 2, but now private companies have entered the area,” he said here yesterday.
Dalit Gana village head, Gunong Laraman, said the state government should give the local people a chance to offer an opinion being the stakeholders, who have a beneficial interest, and in accordance with the law in the area.
“We are the beneficiary of communal titles that have been issued and we fully depend on the promise made by the state government to implement the second phase that was promised to us.
“We have a legitimate expectation that the state government will always protect our interests in land matters and to prioritize its earlier promises before placing greater importance to these companies,” he said.
Molosok village head, Dominic Undul, said all the residents in Mukim Dalit, Sook felt aggrieved by the action of the state cabinet in giving approval to the three private companies to enter the area.
“We noted that this action is a very serious anomaly and was not carried out according to proper land application procedures as provided in the Land Ordinance (Cap 68) Sabah.
“The state government should fulfil its promise to provide most of the remaining land for development of basic infrastructure such as schools, police station, fire station and village clinics rather than to give it to the private companies,” he said.
The memorandum was received by the Pensiangan parliamentary liaison officer, Rayner Udong, at his office here.
Rayner, when met by reporters after being handed the memorandum, declined to give any comment on the matter.