 | | Legal victory for customary land owners at Kuching High Court, 21 Jan 2010 |
Two landmark High Court decisions affirm Malay and Iban native customary land rights
Read complete text of both judgements: Click links to
1) Rumah Agi judgement
2) Ramli judgement
Jan 22, 2010 , From http://freemalaysiatoday.com/english/?p=8450
Ibans beat back Taib government in court
KUCHING: The free-for-all land grab by private companies in Sarawak was dealt a blow yesterday by a landmark High Court ruling that reproached the state government for its over-enthusiastic support of big business over the little man.
The government’s unpopular Konsep Baru (Malay for “New Concept”) of land development, which encourages private companies to set up vast oil palm plantations on native lands, will now have to be rolled back.
The High Court of Sabah and Sarawak declared victory to rural Iban farmers from Rumah Madel, in Sebauh, 30km from Bintulu, in the land rights suit filed against Ladang Sawit Bintulu Sdn Bhd Tabung Haji (a major shareholder of the oil palm plantation) and the government of Taib Mahmud.
The Rumah Madel plaintiffs were represented by land rights advocates Baru Bian, who is also the Sarawak PKR chief, and See Chee How.
The state government now faces increased pressure to curb its support of wealthy oil palm companies taking over the Native Customary Rights (NCR) land of indigenous communities across the state.
Tabung Haji, a federal investment fund, will also face questions over its involvement in the Sebauh plantation. Local people say the plantation has destroyed their land, fruit trees, rubber and other crops, and water supplies.
Konsep Baru promises NCR landowners a 30 percent share in “joint development” of a given oil palm plantation, with 60 percent going to the private company and the rest to the state.
The state says the land will be returned to the NCR owners after 60 years. The government argues this brings development to what it calls “idle land.”
The picture turns murky, however, in the ties between the oil palm companies and high-ranking state officials. Many NCR landowners who signed up to these schemes have complained bitterly that the private investors had handed out only a pittance for their land.
Private companies are alleged to have frequently established plantations without consulting local communities. The first the locals hear of the development is often the sound of bulldozers uprooting their fruit trees and farms.
Many native communities have shown their outrage by taking the government to court. More than a hundred court cases have been filed, alleging infringement of NCR rights by logging companies and oil palm plantations.
From: The Star Online, January 21, 2010 at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/21/nation/20100121142056&sec=nation
Court orders NCR land returned to orang asli
By SHARON LING
KUCHING: There was joy for a group of Iban longhouse folk from Bintulu when the High Court ruled Thursday that they had native customary rights (NCR) to a disputed area of their land within a provisional lease issued to an oil palm plantation company.
In granting their NCR rights to the land, the High Court ruled that the provisional lease over the 1,214ha disputed area was null and void.
It ordered the company, Ladang Sawit Bintulu Sdn Bhd, to leave the disputed area, excise it from the provisional lease and return it to the Ibans.
The judgement was handed down by High Court judge Datuk David Wong in chambers at the Courthouse here.
The Iban plaintiffs led by Tuai Rumah Agi Bungkong had filed a suit in 2001 against Ladang Sawit Bintulu and four other defendants including the state government to seek a declaration of native customary rights over their land.
They claimed that the provisional lease issued in 1996 to Ladang Sawit Bintulu had wrongly included their native customary land.
They contended that there had been no prior extinguishment of their native customary rights over the land and therefore the issuance of the provisional lease was unlawful.
Counsel for the plaintiffs Baru Bian told reporters that the court victory showed that the natives of Sarawak had recourse to justice in the courts regarding NCR land.
“We are delighted because we have judges in the High Court who appreciate and understand native customary rights law.
”This is an encouragement to us as we are dealing with more than 100 cases pending in court,” he said.
Agi meanwhile said he was happy and relieved at the court’s decision as it meant that their native customary rights had been defended.
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