Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing
KUCHING: Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing condemns a recent social media posting accusing him of not supporting the Dayaks’ struggle to protect their rights over Native Customary Rights (NCR) land.
The article posted by Aaron J Cross claims that Tiong’s open stand against the recent rally conducted by Dayak non-governmental organisations (NGOs) against the Federal Court ruling on NCR land, would put his successor in a difficult position.
In a statement released yesterday, Tiong pointed out his track record in standing up for the rights of the Dayaks over their ancestral land – clearly showing his support for them on NCR land issues.
Tiong, who is also president of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), chided the writer for not doing his research upon posting his accusation against him (Tiong) because if he had done so, he would have found out that on many occasions in the past, he (Tiong) had spoken up for the Dayaks on NCR land disputes.
Tiong added that people like the person behind the posting would only stand on the sidelines and criticise via social media, but would never get down to the ground to listen to the people and try to solve their problems.
“As Bintulu MP, I have gone down to the ground to help the Dayaks in my constituency embroiled in disputes with plantation companies over their NCR land. In 2011 when the people of Rumah Ranggong and Rumah Belili in Ulu Niah were involved in a serious confrontation over their land with a group of people sent by a plantation company, I was there with the villagers from the two longhouses to defuse the situation – the case was settled and the people managed to retain their land.
“Where was this person, who goes by the name of ‘Aaron’? Did he even dare to show his face in such a dangerous situation where clashes could have broken out at any time?”
Tiong also pointed out that it was reported on the newspapers on Sept 22, 2015.
“I called upon the state government to resolve the NCR disputes quickly, instead of letting them ‘hanging in the air’. On that same occasion, I also urged the state government to give Majlis Adat Istiadat Sarawak (Sarawak Native Law Council) more authority in interpreting NCR land laws and a bigger say in settling NCR disputes.”
The Bintulu MP noted that the accusation levelled at him in the posting stemmed from his call to Dayaks in his constituency to not join the rally in Kuching, which was set against the Federal Court NCR land ruling on Nov 13.
“I had advised Dayaks in my constituency not to join the rally because with the help of Dato Sri Dr Rundi, the assemblyman for Kemena, we resolved most (of the) NCR land issues in Bintulu parliamentary constituency and as such, they (the Dayaks) should trust us in helping them, rather than joining the rally. I felt that staging rallies and being confrontational will further complicate the situation – the better way is to work with the government to resolve the disputes.”
Tiong said the state government had been doing its best to resolve all NCR land disputes by setting up a council headed by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas to look into the matter and the people involved.
“I fully support Datuk Amar Uggah and his NCR land council and I have recommended our (PDP) vice-president (Marudi assemblyman) Datu Dr Penguang Manggil to be part of the council as he is very familiar with the situation on the ground.”
Tiong cited another case where the people’s stand against the acquisition of their NCR land in Ulu Nyalau was successfully settled through their elected representatives in 2013.
During a meeting with the relevant authorities and Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) on the objection by the people in Ulu Nyalau to the acquisition of their NCR land for the setting up of Samalaju Industrial Park, Tiong said he spoke up strongly for the villagers.
“What I said and the outcome of the meeting with BDA on March 23, 2013, was reported in the news. I stood up firmly against the NCR land of villages in Nayalau being acquired for the Samalaju Industrial Park as there were large swathes of land in nearby oil palm states that could be taken instead. Following that meeting, the matter was resolved and the villagers’ NCR land was spared.
“Obviously the writer did not bother to find out more about my stand on the NCR land issues; instead he chose to misconstrue my advice to the people not to resort to rallies and ultimatums.”