Penguang (front, second right) witnesses the exchange of documents between Sudhakaran, on his right, and the headman of one of the 12 villages.
MIRI (May 31): A signing ceremony yesterday signified the end of the decades-long land dispute between IOI Pelita Plantation and eight communities in Tinjar.
The event, which took place the Pullman Waterfront Hotel here, was witnessed by Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government I Datu Dr Penguang Manggil.
Local community leaders Penghulu Patrick Jelaman and Penghulu Larek Mat, as well as IOI Pelita Plantation’s consultant Carl Dagenhart, were also present.
The IOI Group was represented by its director (plantation) NB Sudhakaran, while the villages were represented by their respective headmen.
The villages are Long Jegan A, Long Jegan B, Long Jegan C, Long Teran Kanan A, Long Teran Kanan B, Long Tabing Berawan, Long Tabing Iban, Long Tuyut, Long Teran Batu, Penan Long Lapok, Penan Long Lapok (Bukit Jelutong) and Penan Long Lapok (Bukit Batu Baled).
In his remarks, Penguang commended all parties for agreeing to reach a settlement, marking what he regarded as ‘the end of one of the longest land disputes in the state’.
He recalled that the dispute started all the way back in the mid-1990s, when the affected folks in the areas claimed that the land operated by a joint-venture company, overlapped with their Native Customary Rights (NCR) plots.
The land was later inherited by IOI Pelita Plantation, but the dispute had continued on for over 20 years.
The settlement over the dispute, which involved some 3,500 settlers from eight different communities, was finally achieved upon the agreement by IOI Pelita Plantation to relinquish 4,615 hectares – more than half of the 9,000-hectare land – to the villages, following negotiations and guidance undertaken by the relevant agencies.
Moreover, the Sarawak government had agreed to gazette the excised land as NCR land for agricultural use by the communities, effectively giving them the ownership titles.
“Despite the long process, I’m glad to see that both sides have agreed to a win-win situation,” said Penguang.
“What belongs to the people will be returned to them. This proves to those on the other side of the bench, who have been accusing Sarawak government of robbing the people, that all this is totally untrue.”
Nonetheless, Penguang also appealed for understanding that for the government to do more for the people, ‘the people would have to give it more time to do what’s necessary – one at a time’.
Also present at the signing were Sarawak legal counsel Dato Sri JC Fong, and Miri Resident Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusuf.