KOTA MARUDU: The government should change their mindset by giving higher priority to the native people and their Native Customary Rights (NCR) claims rather than to private companies in the event of a contest in land applications.
Sabah PKR information chief Datuk Maijol Mahap claimed that on numerous occasions when there is an overlapping of land application between native people and private companies or government agencies, the Land and Surveys Department would give priority to the latter.
And even if the government happens to give approval to the native people, the process is a very long one which can take 10 to 30 years, he said.
“But when it comes to lands applied by private companies, the process can be very quick. It will only take a couple of years or even just several months. Why is there a different set of standard or different set of treatment between them? Are the private companies nicer or more friendly to them compared with the native people?” he said.
Touching on the land problem now in Kg Sinurai, Kg Wayan and Kg Malinsau in Ranau, Maijol was of the opinion it is another clear manifestation of the weaknesses in the government to handle NCR lands in Sabah.
This problem would not have happened if the government made it right from the beginning, he said, adding that the people in those villages have been there for about 100 years and although they practised shifting cultivation long time ago, they have not moved that far. Their agricultural activities are still confined within their area.
“I was told that the land application by the applicant was made in the 1970s. At that time there were already people occupying that area. Under Section 13 of the Land Ordinance, when somebody makes land application, the ACLR must make a notice to the people living in the land in question alerting them about the land application and urging them to make objections if the land application prejudices their position and rights.
“I have little doubt that the Land Office has issued the Section 13 Notice and posted it at the Land Office notice board. However, as in many other cases, that notice did not reach the target group namely the people in those villages.
“How do they make objections if they were not aware of the notice and the land application by the applicant? However even if this was not done, there is still a ‘safety net’ in the procedure because before the Land Office further process the land application, their officers are duty bound to make a ground visit to the land in question to ascertain whether there were people living in that area,” he opined.
If they found that there were people living there, they should have given priority to them instead of the other applicant, Maijol said.
“I think the problem started at the point when the Land office gave priority to the other applicant and not those living in that area,” he added.
He was of the opinion that the Land Office entertained the applicant and consistently approved it despite the repeated and severe objections from the people there after they realised later on that their land had been applied for by somebody else.
Even if the Land Office approved the land to the applicant, they should have excised the area being occupied by the people which is normally mandatory as stated in the RSP, he stressed.
“So there are many questions as to why the people did not get their land which has become an NCR land. Why didn’t the Land Office guide the people to make an objection to the applicant’s application within the prescribed 30 days period?
“Were there any ground visit made by the Land Office to ascertain the presence of the people there? If there was a ground visit, why they still proceeded to process and approve the land to the applicant? Why did they not give priority to the people there? Why their area in any event was not excised from the area applied by the applicant?” Maijol asked.
According to him, to rescue the land now is not easy because the company has already obtained a possession order from the High Court.
“To my mind there are only two hopes for the people there. First, we hope the Court of Appeal will allow the people’s appeal and overrule the High Court decision and give victory to the people. I was told the hearing of the appeal is sometime next month.
“Secondly, the government enters into a negotiation with the company whereby the government offers the company another land of equivalent area or value and the company abandons the land in Ranau,” he said.
“Let the people there continue occupying and own their land, houses and plantation. This mode does not have much legal impediment. All it requires is a strong political will of the government to help the people there.
“I hope the elected representatives, especially those in Ranau, pursue with this mode and convince the Chief Minister to agree. No doubt this will cost the government but if the government is truly subscribed to their motto of ‘people first’, this is the time to sacrifice and care for the people,” he said.