Vague definition source of NCR land disputes

KUCHING: The vague definition of the term Native Customary Rights (NCR) in the Sarawak Land Code has been the source of conflict between the NCR landowners and the state government all this while.

Borneo Resources Institute (Brimas) executive director Mark Bujang said although NCR was recognised by the state government under the state Land Code, there were some weaknesses especially on the definition of the terms.

“Indigenous communities say that Pulau Galau (reserved land), Pemakai Menoa (communal land) and Temuda (farmed land) are NCR but the state government has declared to only Temuda is recognised.

“This is the source of conflict and that is why we have more than 300 cases pending in court disputing this,” he said when presenting the paper on the ‘Indigenous people’s role in traditional forest conservation and governance in Sarawak’ at the Capacity Building Workshop on Forest Watch Initiative in Sarawak organised by Transparency International Malaysia at a hotel here yesterday.

Mark also disagreed with some quarters in the government who said the Penans do not have NCR land because they are always ‘roaming’ around in the forest, stating that even though traditionally the Penans live in the forest, they too have their own distinct territory.

“The challenge is when the executive — the state government did not want to follow the recent court judgement. There are more than 20 cases such as Nor Nyawai, Madeli Salleh and Tuai Rumah Sandah, in which the courts have decided that NCR is not confined only to Temuda but also Pemakai Menoa and Pulau Galau.

“The other weakness that the state faced is weak enforcement. We can see there are a lot of reports lodged to the enforcement agencies (on land matters) but still there were either no action taken or the action was weak.”

Mark stated that as the state is heading towards industrialisation through Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), large forest areas are being converted to the forest and oil palm plantations.

On the 12 hydroelectricity dams that the state planned to construct, he said “the issue is not about how many dams but whether the communities affected have consented to the construction of dams and how will the implementation of the projects be.”

On the indigenous people’s recommendations, Mark said they were consistent in their demand that the state government must recognise Pulau Galau, Pemakai Menoa and Temuda as their NCR land rather than just confining it to Temuda.

“The government should also set up a commission or tribunal to look into the current legislation, land/forestry policies with regards customary land and forest in line with what the courts have already decided.

“This was proposed by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Panglima Richard Malanjum last year that there should be a body looking into the matter of NCR disputes because there are not enough lawyers and experts to deal with this issue.”

He also said the indigenous communities also recommended that a pre-site survey be conducted before there is any issuance of logging and forest plantation licenses to determine whether the local indigenous community have rights over the land.

“Also, if there is any development that has negative impact for the communities, we urge the state government to halt it and maybe call for a dialogue session and meeting to engage the communities before proceeding with the project.”

Mark added that the government should respect the demands and wishes of indigenous people in the development of their territories, adding: “It is not necessary that the government has to decide for the community. They now have the capacity to decide what sort of development that they want on their own.”

-originally posted on Borneo Post, 2 April 2014