Review the Sarawak Land Code 1958: SUHAKAM

THE law makers, especially the Dayak representatives in the State Legislative Council should fight hard to protect the rights of the natives over the Native Customary Rights (NCR) land, said outgoing SUHAKAM Sarawak chairman, Dr Mohd Hirman Ritom Abdullah.
He said SUHAKAM has studied the Sarawak Land Code for the past ten years and discovered that there is urgent need for the Sarawak State Government to take the relevant steps to review the current Sarawak Land Code 1958 to ensure that it serves to promote and continually protect the rights of the indigenous groups to their customary land.

He said such review should include the following:
a. The recognition of Customary Rights to land of law and the right of the natives to land by virtue of Customary Law is consistent with those rights;
b. The recognition of the methods of native occupation that arise out of native customs and traditions is proof of ownership to land and therefore not to be dictated by the Sarawak Land Code 1958 which impose burden to establish ownership of lands via documentary evidence;
c. The constitutional protection on the native rights cannot be taken away except in accordance to the law and upon payment of just compensation;
d. It is a fiduciary obligation of the government officials to consult and obtain consent from the native communities prior to taking action that may infringe their native title rights.
“As such our YBs should speak up to tell the government to make amendment to the existing Land Code,” he added.
Dr Herman was responding to question on why the Land and Survey Department officers did not consult the village’s head and the villagers before acquiring their land.
Land issue especially with regard to the provisional lease (PL) to private companies for the so called oil palm plantations is now hot topic in Sarawak, especially with State election approaching.
The issue was also hotly debated during the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Convention in March 2010. The delegates had expressed their dissatisfaction over the manner the LP was issued to private companies.
Herman take as an example requires under the Land Code 1958 which stated that the NCR right over a piece of land is only recognize if the person who open up the land before 1957 for farming has continuously cultivating the land.
‘Such requirement is not practical because in the past the Bidayuh practiced shifting cultivation which requires them to open up land for planting of padi, and than move to another piece of land for the same purpose, and have to wait for another 10 years or more for the forest to mature before they farm it again.
The reason for the Bidayuh in the past to open up new land for padi planting because new land are fertile.
On the claims of the villagers of Kampung Stenggang over the disputed piece of land and the leasing of the said land to a private company for oil palm plantation, Dr Hirman said SUHAKAM next course of action is to establish that the people of Kampung Stenggang claims over the land.
We will receive complaints and claims, investigate their claims and look at the investigation materials, later compile a report and submit it to the Land and Survey Department and the Ministry of Planning and Resources Management.
A villager present at the dialogue session also pointed out that the Land Code 1958 is not friendly to the NCR land owners.
He said the NCR land owners have no mean to protect their rights through legal process as it will cost them so much money for the legal fees.
At the dialogue session a land officer from the Land and Survey Department Bujang Reduan Mohammad has repeatedly saying that if the land owners are unhappy they can always bring the matter to court.
Even ministers and officers of Land and Survey Deprtment those days in their speeches at land issue functions are fond of telling the land owners this “if you are unhappy and thinks that the land belongs to you, you can bring the case to the court or if you are not satisfied with the amount of compensation you can always bring to court and…...”
Those words seem to frighten the land owners who knew they did not have the money to challenge or bring their case to the court of law.
Meanwhile SUHAKAM Head of Complaints and Investigation Section from Kuala Lumpur Dato N. Siva Subramaniam said the law, the agencies and the rich investors has caused the NCR land owners becoming their victims.