Baru urges S’wakians to vote for PH in next state election if frustrated over unanswered NCR issue

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Baru speaking at the event last night.

KUCHING: Sarawakians who are frustrated with the seemingly unanswered issue of whether Pemakai Menoa and Pulau Galau have the force of law have been asked to vote for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the next state election, said Work Minister Baru Bian.

As a person who have been fighting for native land rights for best part of his political career, Baru who is also Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak chairman opined that the current Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) controlled state government have failed to resolve the issues.

He gave an example of the recent case of the Federal Court’s decision to dismiss the review application by NCR land claimants Tuai Rumah (TR) Sandah and Siew Ak Libau against its own decision on Dec 21, 2016 as the latest incident where the GPS state government have failed to defend the rights of the natives of Sarawak.

“It saddens me to see that natives lose the rights to their own land in Sarawak. This should not happen in Sarawak and if Sarawakians are sick of seeing this issue being unanswered, then maybe Sarawakians should give PH a try and vote PH instead during the next state election,” he added in his speech during the PKR Sarawak Branch Annual General Meeting (MATC) held at a local hotel here last night.

Baru claimed that the recent amendment to the Sarawak Land Code which was supposedly to define ‘pemakai menoa’ (territorial domain) and ‘pulau galau’ (communal forest reserve) was also a “half-baked effort by the state government”.

This was because under Section 6(a) of the Land Code, the area for each community or village is extended to 1,000 hectares and upon survey, that area which is up to the limit of 1,000 hectares would be given title to the community itself, he said.

“Why only give 1,000 hectares when we can claim more than that? Natives of Sarawak have their rights to their land and I believe that they can claim more than just 1,000 hectares,

“The amendment has also limited the size of the claimable area to 1,000 hectares but according to custom our land can claim more than 1,000 hectares. We have won 3,000 hectares, 5,000 hectares and 10,000 hectares but it seems that GPS does not respect our native customs by amending the Land Code and enforcing the law for me which is incorrect,” he said.

When met after the event, Baru told The Borneo Post that he did not agree with Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas’ statement when Uggah said that the outcome of the Federal Court application for a review in the Tuai Rumah Sandah and Siew Ak Libau native customary rights (NCR) land case could have been avoided if it was resolved politically.

According to Baru, it won’t be easy as what Uggah said due to the fact that many legal processes were involved in a case.

“If the case can be resolved politically, then the state government should have just withdrawn from appealing when the NCR land claimants Tuai Rumah (TR) Sandah and Siew Ak Libau was first won the case at High Court for example,” he said.

Apart from highlighting land issues in Sarawak, Baru also reminded PKR members in Sarawak to increase their activities in Sarawak and prepare for the next state election because he really wants PH to take over the state after the next state election.

“We have taken over Putrajaya in 2018 and our next plan is to take over Petra Jaya. With hard work in serving the people we believe that we can do it,” he commented.

Also present during the dinner was Economic Affairs Minister and PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, PKR vice president Ali Biju, Deputy Rural Development Minister Sivarasa Rasiah, who is also PKR Central Leadership council member and PKR vice president Tian Chua.