More than 1,000 villagers in Kota Belud, Sabah have lodged police reports and urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Public Complaints Bureau and Suhakam to protect their grazing land.
The 432 hectares land in question is part of their 2,160-hectare Kuala Pintasan grazing reserve.
The public stand-off and multiple reports follow some curious developments in the wake of federal plans for a massive agropolitan project which will include their threatened grazing land. The agropolitan project seeks to create 'a city of agriculture' in the area.
The Labuan and Wakaf villagers have since discovered that 311 hectares of their grazing land are now mysteriously in the names of “certain individuals and companies”.
“Labuan chief Merajin Hussin and Wakap chief Ogong Suntoh - who are among the five Kuala Pintasan trustees - have never negotiated, consented nor signed any agreement to allow outsiders or companies to own any of the land,” said Asang Lantuhan, chair of the Kuala Pintasan-Kampung Labuan Grazing Reserve Action Committee (Lantas).
However, he recalled that the five trustees including the chiefs of Kampung Taun Gusi, Kampung Merabau and Kampung Tamau did put their signatures down on an agreement in the 1980s to allow Syarikat Aquabio Sdn Bhd to carry out a prawn farm project on 32 hectares of their communal land. The project failed to take off.
“We hope the authorities concerned will investigate our reports for the sake of justice and ensure that the individuals involved in taking our land will be hauled to court,” reiterated Asang, who is also the Kota Belud wakil ketua anak negeri (native rights chief).
The villagers, for good measure, have also sent copies of their multiple reports to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and Sabah police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim.
Land given to villagers 50 years ago
Notwithstanding the multiple reports, the villagers do not want the project if it eats up the 432 hectares which was apparently awarded to Labuan and Wakaf by the North Borneo government on Feb 2, 1956 “as the residents had thousands of livestock animals at that time”.
Their documentary evidence is based on a land authority trust in the name of the late Malik Santis of Kampung Labuan.
“The Sabah government has previously acknowledged that the land belongs to us,” disclosed Mustapha Ghairullah and Rusidi Merjin, Lantas deputy chair and secretary respectively.
“We have explained to the authorities and even had to resort to peaceful demonstrations to remind them but to no avail so far.”
Mustapha chipped in that “the villagers are quite capable of running economic activities on the land on their own if no one takes it away. If the federal government wants to implement the agropolitan project, it should not be on our 432 hectares grazing land. Then we will support it”.
State Rural Development Minister Ewon Ebin maintained that the agropolitan project would take off next month despite the protests.
“We will arrange a dialogue session with the villagers soon,” said Ewon in a brief statement to the media. “Those who are demonstrating are probably among those not listed as participants in the project.”
He did not comment on claims of fraudulent transfer of the bulk of the 432 hectares grazing land to individuals and companies as alleged by the villagers.
Protest not an isolated incident
Details on the agropolitan project remain sketchy so far.
State Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, Musbah Jamli, has been quoted as saying recently in the local media that the agropolitan project involves a 820-acre dairy farm in Pintasan, cattle raising for meat on 450 acres and rubber on 2,000 acres, both in Kampung Rosok and Kampung Surun.
About 550 families are expected to benefit from the projects, according to Musbah, and will involve an initial outlay of RM70 million.
The federal government also plans agropolitan projects in Pitas, Kemabong, Ulu Sugut and Ulu Lingkabau in Beluran, and Tongod under the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC). All four areas and Kota Belud are among the poorest areas in Malaysia.
Kota Belud is by no means an isolated incident.
Several major land protests in recent days have stumped the local authorities and opposition alike and left state government officials scrambling for solutions, if any. Meanwhile, new protests seem to be emerging every other week, again with no hint that politics is behind the phenomenon.
Sook, where a court ruling averted an imminent by-election in the Pensiangan seat, Beluran along the east coast, Kudat and the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu have all either seen people taking to the “streets” in the villages or descending on newspapers offices in the state capital to relate their woes.
The common thread running through all the protests is the desire among native landowners to protect their interest in the land.
Malaysiakini
13/07/09
The 432 hectares land in question is part of their 2,160-hectare Kuala Pintasan grazing reserve.
The public stand-off and multiple reports follow some curious developments in the wake of federal plans for a massive agropolitan project which will include their threatened grazing land. The agropolitan project seeks to create 'a city of agriculture' in the area.
The Labuan and Wakaf villagers have since discovered that 311 hectares of their grazing land are now mysteriously in the names of “certain individuals and companies”.
“Labuan chief Merajin Hussin and Wakap chief Ogong Suntoh - who are among the five Kuala Pintasan trustees - have never negotiated, consented nor signed any agreement to allow outsiders or companies to own any of the land,” said Asang Lantuhan, chair of the Kuala Pintasan-Kampung Labuan Grazing Reserve Action Committee (Lantas).
However, he recalled that the five trustees including the chiefs of Kampung Taun Gusi, Kampung Merabau and Kampung Tamau did put their signatures down on an agreement in the 1980s to allow Syarikat Aquabio Sdn Bhd to carry out a prawn farm project on 32 hectares of their communal land. The project failed to take off.
“We hope the authorities concerned will investigate our reports for the sake of justice and ensure that the individuals involved in taking our land will be hauled to court,” reiterated Asang, who is also the Kota Belud wakil ketua anak negeri (native rights chief).
The villagers, for good measure, have also sent copies of their multiple reports to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and Sabah police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim.
Land given to villagers 50 years ago
Notwithstanding the multiple reports, the villagers do not want the project if it eats up the 432 hectares which was apparently awarded to Labuan and Wakaf by the North Borneo government on Feb 2, 1956 “as the residents had thousands of livestock animals at that time”.
Their documentary evidence is based on a land authority trust in the name of the late Malik Santis of Kampung Labuan.
“The Sabah government has previously acknowledged that the land belongs to us,” disclosed Mustapha Ghairullah and Rusidi Merjin, Lantas deputy chair and secretary respectively.
“We have explained to the authorities and even had to resort to peaceful demonstrations to remind them but to no avail so far.”
Mustapha chipped in that “the villagers are quite capable of running economic activities on the land on their own if no one takes it away. If the federal government wants to implement the agropolitan project, it should not be on our 432 hectares grazing land. Then we will support it”.
State Rural Development Minister Ewon Ebin maintained that the agropolitan project would take off next month despite the protests.
“We will arrange a dialogue session with the villagers soon,” said Ewon in a brief statement to the media. “Those who are demonstrating are probably among those not listed as participants in the project.”
He did not comment on claims of fraudulent transfer of the bulk of the 432 hectares grazing land to individuals and companies as alleged by the villagers.
Protest not an isolated incident
Details on the agropolitan project remain sketchy so far.
State Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, Musbah Jamli, has been quoted as saying recently in the local media that the agropolitan project involves a 820-acre dairy farm in Pintasan, cattle raising for meat on 450 acres and rubber on 2,000 acres, both in Kampung Rosok and Kampung Surun.
About 550 families are expected to benefit from the projects, according to Musbah, and will involve an initial outlay of RM70 million.
The federal government also plans agropolitan projects in Pitas, Kemabong, Ulu Sugut and Ulu Lingkabau in Beluran, and Tongod under the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC). All four areas and Kota Belud are among the poorest areas in Malaysia.
Kota Belud is by no means an isolated incident.
Several major land protests in recent days have stumped the local authorities and opposition alike and left state government officials scrambling for solutions, if any. Meanwhile, new protests seem to be emerging every other week, again with no hint that politics is behind the phenomenon.
Sook, where a court ruling averted an imminent by-election in the Pensiangan seat, Beluran along the east coast, Kudat and the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu have all either seen people taking to the “streets” in the villages or descending on newspapers offices in the state capital to relate their woes.
The common thread running through all the protests is the desire among native landowners to protect their interest in the land.
Malaysiakini
13/07/09
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