KUCHING: The Land Code (Amendment) Bill, 2014 will not end the conundrum plaguing native customary rights (NCR) land issues which the government needs to seriously look into.
George Lagong (Independent-Pelagus) urged Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing, who had been outspoken in raising Dayak issues, to continue looking at the complaints of the natives and do his best to remedy NCR land issues, in particular, the status of ‘Pemakai Menoa’ (communal land) and ‘Pulau Galau’ (reserved land/forest).
He said Masing should recall the early days of Dayakism before the now defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) sought admission into the Barisan Nasional (BN) when the party did not have the government machinery as backing for electoral campaigns, and did not see the world through rose-tinted glasses. One of the gravest concerns then was the NCR land issue.
Citing the landmark case of Nor Nyawai which was brought to the courts 15 years ago, George said the state government had since saw it fit to challenge that pemakai menoa and pulau galau were not part of the NCR land of the Ibans.
“I am given to understand that only cleared areas or temuda (farmed land) cultivated before 1958 are so recognised by the state government. The stance taken by the state government means that after 1958, the Ibans can no longer expand their temuda beyond that already cleared. If the temuda belonging to a particular bilek or household is 10 acres – that’s it!
“They cannot expand their temuda to plant more paddy or other crash crops because according to the state government, pemakai menoa and pulau galau are not available for them to cultivate! By extension, the hundreds of land cases brought by the Ibans before the courts are all lies because pemakai menoa and pulau galau do not exist, according to the state government.
“And by further extension, all those Ibans are liars for claiming pemakai menoa and pulau galau. Make no mistake, the views held by the state government cannot hold water!” George said when debating the Budget speech on the fourth day of State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here yesterday.
He highlighted that communal land had been a burden of proof for the native communities to establish their entitlement to NCR land in the courts when their land were encroached.
The native community would have to engage legal counsels to represent them in court, forcing them to spend money they did not have. In addition, they have to prove their history, notwithstanding the history of the natives here are mostly based on oral and very little, if any, written records.
George said the native community had to prove their land boundaries according to their customs, which put them to even further trouble and expenses. They would be subjected to the rigours of court proceedings, a different world from the adat and custom which hardworking and honest natives are used to.
“Suffice to say, I find it most disturbing that a responsible government would subject its people to such trouble, expense and insult just to prove that their land is actually theirs,” he continued.
George was of the view that the state ought to address the untitled NCR land issue with utmost urgency, considering the perceived benefit arising from the Bill.
He stressed that land owners ought to be given better security for their ownership of NCR lands, instead of being deemed to ‘hold only by licence’ from the government.