Taib challenges NGOs to form political parties

KUCHING – Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud has challenged NGOs to form their own political parties in order to confront him over land and environmental issues.

Launching Sarawak Forestry Corporation’s Orangutan Adoption programme over dinner on Friday night (13 Nov '09), Taib said he was unhappy with some agencies and NGOs which had constantly raised issues pertaining to wildlife and environment in the State.

Taib particularly singled out Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) which is supposed to fight for human rights, has a lot of issues on land, which later jumped into orangutan talks.

“Why don’t they just form a political party rather than fighting in disguise?” he asked.

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What the Malays say: "Cakap tidak serupa bikin". This expression is aptly applied to Taib. When a group of Dayaks wanted to form a political party way back in 2005, Taib, according to the Registrar of Societies was among Sarawak leaders who strongly objected to the registration of Malaysian Dayak Congress (MDC). Here he wants NGOs to form a political party.

His Deputy Alfred Jabu, who had earlier on welcomed any one to form “a political party, or any party or even a tea party ka” labeled MDC as “mai Dayak charut”. Apparently because of Jabu’s remarks, the Federal authorities refused to register MDC on grounds of security that it (MDC) would bring chaos to the country. What stupid reasons for the authorities not to register MDC!

The question we want to ask is: Does Taib really mean what he says and supports the registration of any political party in the State in the near future either by any of NGOs or a group of people? - The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

The Broken Shield offers condolence to Chan’s family

With the sudden demise of S.C. Chan in the early hours of 21 July, I lost not only a dear friend, but a “boss” who introduced me to write for Malaysiakini. Chan has been with Malaysiakini since it started some nine years ago and early this year he invited me for a cup of coffee and asked me whether I could help write for Malaysiakini.

He told me he needed someone who could write about Dayak politics especially with the coming Batang Ai by-election. I accepted the offer and since then I have been writing for Malaysiakini. Often I consulted him on a number of issues. As a boss, he was very kind and helpful.

Noted for his analytical writing on politics, Chan was a “home” bred journalist committed to expose injustices and unfairness meted to the unprivileged people. Coming from a Chinese-Iban parentage, Chan was very concerned about NCR land issues because he knew his mother’s NCR land was taken away by the authorities.

As a journalist, he must be the “first to know” of any happening in the country. Even while waiting to be operated, Chan smsed me on 20 July 2009 at 23.23 p.m. asking me “if there is any good story today” and reminded me to write on his behalf for the malaysianmirror. He was confident that he would be out in two weeks’ time.

Such was the character of a person who was so much committed and dedicated to journalism. The fact that he was so eager to know of the latest news speaks volumes of the man.

I knew Chan when I was working as a Press Officer with the state information department in the late 1960s. He was with the Sarawak Tribune. Since then, our friendship began until this day.

Therefore his sudden demise was a great shock to me as he said that he would be out in two weeks’ time. On behalf of The Broken Shield and its administrators, I offer our profound sorrow and deepest sympathies to his family.

Meanwhile, as instructed by the Editor-in-Chief of Malaysiakini, Steven Gan, I filed the following story for Malaysiakini:-

A well-known Sarawak journalist, Chan Seng Chai (S.C. Chan) passed away at 1.55 a.m this morning following a 14-hour heart operation at the Normah Medical Centre. He was 62 years old.

He leaves behind a wife, two grown up children and a grandchild. His remains will be cremated on Friday.

After leaving school, he took up a career as a reporter with then The Sarawak Tribune under the guidance of the editor, Dennis Law and news editor Raymond Adai. While being a reporter, he took up further studies and graduated with a journalism degree.

He left The Sarawak Tribune and stringed for a number of local and international papers and magazines. His column “Over a Cup of Coffee” in The Sunday Borneo Post has a great number of following.

Chan who is also known as Tony Thien was a staff reporter for the Malaysiakini right from the day the on-line news portal started.

His untimely death shocked many of his friends and politicians. Dominique Ng, state assemblyperson for Padungan and PKR advisor described him as always a professional reporter taking care to check and verify his facts before reporting. His passing would be deeply felt by those who knew him.

An NCR land lawyer, Baru Bian said that he had lost a dear friend. “I knew him for many years with a heart for the marginalized groups like the natives of Sarawak, as such he was ever ready to cover my NCR land cases and highlight their problems. I will miss him dearly,” he said.

Sulok Tawie, secretary of Kuching Journalists Division and former Secretary general of Sarawak Journalists Association, described Chan as one of the best known journalists, who was humble and willing to help young reporters who “felt lost” in the journalistic world.

He said he was highly respected for his views especially on politics and business and even being consulted by politicians.

Another Opposition leader, Voon Lee San, state assemblyperson for Batu Lintang, described Chas as a good friend who covered many of his political works in his writing.

As a journalist, he maintained a high standard in his profession who was sharp and feared no one, he said, adding that Sarawak lost an outstanding journalist.

The Editor-in-Chief of The Borneo Post group, M. Rajah said that Chan, as one of the paper’s contributors, was a Sarawak’s top notch journalist.

“I have known him since 80s and I have learnt a lot from him. He was my mentor. He taught me the art of news and feature writing.

“In my early days of journalism, when I virtually had no contacts of my own he introduced me to his contacts. I am truly indebted to him,” Rajah said.

Chan’s another close friend, Paul Kadang, who is attached to PKR Office in Kuala Lumpur, said that Sarawak had lost an outstanding personality and writer.

For those who had the privilege to know him knew Chan as one who often championed the causes of the disadvantaged, he said.

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

Who are the "political scorpions"?

The other point that I did not include in my Malaysiakini story (see my story below this article) on the SPDP press conference on 18 July was that Mawan was blaming the Dayaks for the disunity that we are in today, starting from the split in SNAP in 1980 during which PBDS was formed, and in the 2002 SNAP crisis during which SPDP was formed; again in 2004 PBDS crisis after which PRS was formed and lastly in the PRS crisis (2006-2008) which almost led to its demise.

We have in the past as well as in the present heard of the term “political frogs” to describe politicians jumping ships. But Mawan likened some Dayaks as “scorpions” moving around and poking people left and right.

“And if you are a scorpion, people will not like you because you are not a smooth creature,” Mawan said.

I am not so sure whether the Dayaks are or were like scorpions or behaving like one. If you look back into all these crises, there was one common denominator: a Chinese towkay was involved one way or the other.

# SNAP’s first crisis in 1980 was because of James Wong who insisted that he must be made the president of the party upon the resignation of Dunstan Endawie (refer to the first volume of The Broken Shield) and Leo Moggie and Daniel Tajem said that since it was a Dayak-based party, the president should be a Dayak. With the help of other Dayak leaders, Wong’s camp defeated Moggie and his group.

# With that victory, Wong behaved a like a dictator in the party and did not brook any criticism to his leadership. Anyone trying to talk about Dayak interests in the party was told to leave the party and form his own racial party. One of those who were very vocal about Dayak issues was Tajem. Wong found an excuse to expel Tajem from the party by accusing him of supporting an independent candidate in the 1982 parliamentary election. His expulsion led to the resignations of several DUN members and MPs from SNAP, who later formed PBDS in September 1983.

# SNAP’s second crisis in 2002 was due to a quarrel between Wong and the MP for Bintulu Tiong King Sing over a TV3 project in Bintulu. The bitter feud led to the expulsion of Tiong from the party. His expulsion was strongly objected by leaders like Mawan, Nyarok, Sylvester Enterie and six others who resigned and formed SPDP. Due to the quarrel SNAP was deregistered, but it is still given a stay of execution. (Tiong owed much to people like Mawan and eight others including the late Peter Tinggom and the late Dr. Judson Tagal for “saving” him).

# Therefore, I was surprised to hear Tiong shouted at all the SPDP leaders during their last meeting, treating them as if they were small children. His loud voice was overheard by many of us – the reporters. We heard him saying: “I spent my bloody money on this party, so do not do that to me ……”)

# As for PBDS crisis in 2004, it was James Masing and again a non-Dayak in the person of Sng Chee Hua was involved. Masing and Sng challenged Tajem and Joseph Salang for the top posts. In their determined efforts to be president and deputy president, they made a lot blunders such as having their own TDC in Bintulu leading to the creation of two “presidents” with two sets of supreme councils and two headquarters. Because of this, PBDS was deregistered. (More details will be revealed with the publication of my second volume of The Broken Shield which will out very, very soon).

# The PRS crisis from 2006 to 2008 was again due to Sng Chee Hua who wanted to topple Masing as president and later his son Larry. But Masing played his game very well and has gotten rid of the Sngs from the party. Now PRS is almost one hundred percent Dayak party, led and financed by Dayaks themselves.

As for SPDP, its future is in the hands of one man – Tiong and we have heard of rumours that he may go for the two post in their TDC this November or even for the number one post.

As Mawan said, SPDP was a democratic party and he expected contests from “top bottom”. Thus Mawan should know better than many of us as to who are the political “scorpions”. But the question I would like to ask is: Can SPDP survive from the sting of the "scorpion"? - The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

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Taken from: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/108817

Concerns loom over possible merger

Talks of a merger between two Dayak-based parties Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) remain as talks only as the two sides have not met officially since the proposal was made in 2005.

"The talks of merger are still on, but we have not met," admitted William Mawan SPDP president after a supreme council meeting yesterday.

"Even though the merger remains illusive, we have other ways of strengthening one another on the ground. We must be seen together first and demonstrate we work to help one another," he said.

Asked if there were any obstacles, Mawan said: "There are no obstacles and as far as I am concerned, I am prepared to step aside in order to allow some one to head the new entity."

"We are very committed to the idea of a merger," he said, adding that there was no time frame for it to be realised.

The merger talks between the two was said to have been proposed by Chief Minster Abdul Taib Mahmud in 2005 in order to strengthen the two parties especially following the de-registration of Snap and PBDS in 2002 and 2004 respectively.

Both SPDP and PRS were born out of the demise of the two parties. For SPDP, it was registered in November 2002 and PRS was registered in Oct 21, 2004, the day when PBDS' registration was revoked.

Sources close to Taib said that the chief minister did not want to be seen as having a hand in the de-registration of the two-Dayak based parties.


Chinese leaders call for caution

But when the idea of a merger was proposed to strengthen 'Dayak unity', Chinese leaders of the two parties called for caution, because any move to merge must be done with great care.

Tiong King Sing, SPDP treasurer general, who was very much against the merger, was reported to have said: "There is no point to merge, if we have to quarrel over who should be the president and who should hold important posts."

"There is no point to merge if at the end of the day, both sides get embroiled in the fight for top posts. If this happens why should we rock the boat?" he asked.

Sng Chee Hua, who was then PRS deputy president, was also reported to be against the merger, saying that some had to make sacrifices if the merger went through.

"No doubt, there will be a bigger room, a bigger boat, but the question is who will be its captain," said Sng.

Now Sng is no longer with PRS and yet PRS is hesitant about the merger, although publicly it is for it.

According to a PRS supreme council member, PRS does not want Tiong to be in the new entity.

"PRS will closely watch SPDP's triennial delegates conference to be held in November this year and the role Tiong is going to play in the party.

"Because of this, PRS' own conference has to be delayed by a year," he said, adding that the decision to merge or not would be known by then.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/108817

S'wak land owners resist joint-venture 'land grab' ~ Malaysiakini

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/108602


Native Customary Rights (NCR) landowners from some 60 longhouses in the Lower Julau and Upper Bintangor areas in the Sarikei Division have registered their strongest yet objection against the inclusion of their plots as part of an oil palm plantation joint project by the Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) and Sime Darby Plantations.

In a statement emailed to Malaysiakini, TAHABAS (Jaringan Tanah Hak Bangsa Asal Sarawak) or Sarawak NCR landowners network secretary Nyumbang Anak Barau said that the landowners who attended a dialogue session on July 9 had told LCDA and Sime Darby Plantations to exclude their land.

However, despite their protest, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between Sime Darby plantations and the LCDA to develop 20,000 hectares of NCR land.

The landowners from 109 longhouses were represented by the LCDA.

Sarawak's land development minister James Masing witnessed the signing of the agreement.

Nyumbang said: "I wish to reiterate our stand as the affected landowners that we are against the implementation of this NCR land development policy in our areas, where LCDA and Sime Darby respectively own 10 percent and 60 percent shares in a joint-venture company (JVC).

He said that the remaining 30 percent is supposed to be "owned by us, the landowners who have not agreed to this policy".

Major points of discontent

"We are not against NCR land developments through oil palm schemes per se, but we cannot accept this particular land development policy," he said and outlined the main points of disagreement.

He said: "We are not confident that LCDA can competently and impartially protect our rights in the JVC. We see LCDA has vested interests, and the mechanisms to be employed are not convincing enough to protect our rights;

Secondly, he said, the LCDA is being given an equivalent of "dictatorial power which is too strong for our liking, while our rights are unfairly and vastly diminished."

Thirdly, they do not trust LCDA, and “we are against LCDA becoming our Trustee. LCDA's records as known by us have failed to dispel our fear of not receiving fair bonuses and dividends later."

He said that so-called 30 percent share that is offered to may not eradicate poverty but "we may even become poorer by losing our lands forever after signing the trust deed".

Nyumbang said the current policy does not satisfactorily provide a guarantee to return those lands to their heirs upon the expiry of the joint venture after 60 years.

"This fear is genuine and not unfounded. And this is reflected by over 200 cases in our courts involving NCR lands. With such numbers, why are we not to worry?" he asked.

"Incidentally, the people from over 60 longhouses living in Lower Julau and Upper Bintangor and those along Kanowit-Julau-Durin road formed an action committee in 2007 to counteract an earlier attempt to extract timber on these same lands by a company issued with a provisional lease by the government," he said.

Loss of land

Nyumbang said that in the event that the joint-venture company fails to settle its debts by a certain period, the land owners will then be forced to use their land as collaterals.

"We could lose our land," he said and that working as a labourer earning a rate of RM15 per day or RM330 per month is hardly sufficient. It is well below the poverty line."

He said due to the absence of land titles, some of the idle NCR lands may not seem to offer them much profit. But they are a source of unpolluted vegetables, meat and fish in addition to giving them priceless building materials and other jungle produce.

"Moreover by safe-keeping these lands temporarily, we can therefore hope that one day our next generation with better education and means will be able to develop them better," he said.

State rights: Sarawak BN messed up ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/107975

Sarawak PKR chief Dominique Ng rebuked the state's tourism minister Michael Manyin for saying that the basic rights of the state as contained in the 20-point Malaysia Agreement would be lost if Pakatan Rakyat were to form the government.

"It was the Sarawak BN that had partially traded off immigration powers as provided for in the 20-point Malaysia Agreement when the requirement for passports or filling immigration forms for Malaysians from other states coming into Sarawak was abolished in 2005," he said.

Ng, the state assemblyperson for Padungan, added: "Instead the state BN government is on record for having abused immigration powers of the state to stop opposition leaders from entering the state.

"In contrast to the BN government, a future PR government in Sarawak will ensure that the posts of director of labour, senior assistant director, assistant director and all of the senior labour posts will be filled by Sarawakians or long term residents married to Sarawakians.

"Labour interests in Sarawak can only be looked into by local officers with special understanding of labour matters," he said.


'BN abolished use of English'

Ng explained that the use of English as an official language in the state was a right clearly stated in the Malaysia agreement.

“It was abolished by the BN government in the mid-80s, much to the detriment of educational progress in Sarawak," he said.

The BN government, added Ng, had presided over the unfair distribution of natural resources.

Forty-six years after independence, the people of Sarawak are still being given 5 percent of the oil profits as royalty, though Sarawak is a major oil-producing state.

"Poverty in Sarawak is among the highest, and development of Sarawak is lagging far behind the rest of the nation," he said.

Manyin had warned the people that they stood to lose many of their fundamental rights as Sarawakians if they wanted change for the sake of change.

"I feel disturbed by some Sarawakians who call for a change of government and leadership using peninsula-based Pakatan Rakyat as their political platform.

"This is dangerous because it could result in Sarawak losing its rights as contained in the 20-point agreement when it helped to form Malaysia in 1963," he said.


Absurd claims by minister

Manyin added that some areas in the agreement were meant to give Sarawakians a head-start over their more advanced West Malaysian counterparts.

Meanwhile, Ng said Sarawak's representation in the federal cabinet had declined, especially the absence of representation from the minister's own Bidayuh community.

"Should he not first champion the interests of his own community at the federal level?

"He will not get anywhere trying to deflect the neglect of his own community by his absurd claims about a possible PR government in Sarawak in future," he stressed.

Ng assured that a future PR government in Sarawak as promised by Anwar Ibrahim, the PKR de facto leader, would respect the agreed rights of people of Sabah and Sarawak and bestow an improved level of state autonomy.

The PR government would also improve the representation of the two states in the federal cabinet by creating a second deputy prime minister to be filled by a Sabah or Sarawak Malaysian.

It will also improve the presence of officers from the two states in the foreign and diplomatic service; raise the oil royalty from the current 5 percent to 20 percent and provide a modern highway for Sarawak and narrow the development gap between East and Peninsula Malaysia.

"What is the BN government offering Sarawak in comparison?" Ng asked.

BN MP still awaiting Kapit-Sibu trunk road ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/107585

Kapit MP Alexander Nanta Linggi has blamed the big gap in development between Kapit - located in central Sarawak - and other divisions in the state to the lack of infrastructure development.

"Although there is much talk about the digital divide between urban and rural areas, the development gap in Kapit is far more pressing," said Nanta, who is from Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), a member of the BN coalition.

"It is still a big issue here and we are still talking about it," he said at the 16th installation-cum-award dinner of the Kapit Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

"Kapit had over the years given the BN government a strong mandate in the general election because of its pledge to implement development projects, including completing the road that was to link Sibu with Kapit," he said.

"Kapit's economy depends on infrastructure development. The pledges, therefore, must be fulfilled and any development meant for the division, must also include the road link from Sibu to Kapit," added Nanta.

He warned that Kapit would suffer greatly if logging, on which it depended for its wealth, slowed down.


Vast tracks of untapped agricultural land

Kapit could not depend on indigenous fish like ikan empurau, semah and tangadak or fruit trees like dabai and langsat as they were seasonal and unreliable.

"We must venture into other businesses such as crop planting to ensure steady incomes," he said, and stressed that the construction of a road would open up vast tracts of land for agricultural activities.

Nanta is not the only one who had been urging the government to build the Kapit-Sibu trunk road.

There were other leaders before him including his grandfather Temenggong Jugah who made a similar call more than 40 years ago when he was the MP for Ulu Rejang and as minister for Sarawak affairs.

Then came Nanta's father Leonard Linggi Anak Jugah, who was the MP for Kapit (1978 to 1986), and a relative, James Jimbun.

Nanta, who fought for the road to be included in the Ninth Malaysia Plan was said to be furious when there was no allocation for the trunk road in the plan.

Trunk road may remain an illusive dream

It appears that the promise will remain an elusive dream if the argument put forward by the state government is any indication.

According to sources close to the state government, Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud is not in favour of the Kapit-Sibu trunk road.

They reckoned the trunk road will turn Kapit into a ghost town because visitors will not spend the nights there as they do now.

Secondly, the road, they said, is not economically viable as there are no economic activities between Sibu and Kapit.

This is despite the fact that the road will pass hundreds of longhouses and thousands of hectares of fertile land.

Thirdly, the government does not want to deprive express boats and tongkang that ply between Sibu and Kapit of their business.
One other reason, according to the sources, is that the government wants to concentrate on upstream development, where in addition to the Bakun hydro-electric dam (above), there is the Murum and Baleh dams to be built.

Roads and other infrastructure worth about RM7 billion will be built between Kapit and these areas, which will form part of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewal Energy (SCORE).

Although Kapit may not be linked to Sibu in the near future, it will eventually be connected to the fast growing town of Bintulu.

Najib's assurance on NCR land 'too little, too late' ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/106904

Sarawak’s leading NCR lawyer Baru Bian has described Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s assurance that the Sarawak Barisan Nasional government will not take away NCR land from the Ibans as coming “too little and too late”.

“The fact and the truth is that the people’s land, in particular the native customary rights land have already been taken, grabbed and snatched under the BN government," he said in a press statement to Malaysiakini today.

A local English daily The Borneo Post quoted the prime minister as saying in its front page report on June 19 that the BN government will not take away the native customary landsof the natives of Sarawak.

The prime minister was also quoted as urging the people to “... have confidence in the Barisan Nasional government. We have no intention of grabbing anybody’s land. The Ibans should not worry. The BN government will not snatch your property.”

Baru, who is also a member of PKR political bureau and supreme council, said that the fact that Najib had to make the statement shows that the people, in particular the natives, are complaining that their NCR lands had been taken away summarily all these years.

He added: “The fact that my legal firm is handling over one hundred cases of NCR - related cases show proof that NCR land have been taken, grabbed and snatched all these years, under the BN government, headed by the present Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.”

Baru said despite the landmark decision in the case of Nor Anak Nyawai which was affirmed by Madeli Salleh’s case in the Federal Court, the present state BN government of Sarawak refused to accept the said court’s decision that NCR land includes not only “temuda” (secondary forest) but it extends to their “Pemakai menua” (territorial domain) and “Pulau” (reserved or preserved virgin forests).


Return NCR land to the people

“This refusal to accept the court’s decision is reflected in the state Attorney-General’s chambers’ defences representing the state government, in the cases now pending hearing in the various High Courts throughout the state of Sarawak," he pointed out.

He urged the prime minister to order, instruct and/or at least advise the present Sarawak BN government through the chief minister to return to the people all the NCR land that had been “taken, grabbed and snatched” summarily all these years by revoking timber licences, provisional leases and replanting permit or other licences that includes and/or encroaches onto NCR lands.

Secondly, order that an independent Land Commission of Inquiry be set up to investigate all these violation of claims of NCR lands in Sarawak, including the abuses by the police force of complainants relating to NCR disputes with companies, to show to the people of Sarawak, and Malaysian at large that the prime minister walks the talk.

Baru said this Land Commission of Inquiry should also look into all the hundred over cases now pending in the High Courts in Sarawak, thus helping in the backlog of cases in the High Court.

“If the above proposal is not done within one month from today, I am afraid these statements are mere political gimmicks just to mislead the people, in particular the natives of Sarawak that this BN government is now concerned with their affairs and problems", he said, adding that these are but signs of the impending state general election now looming in the horizon.

It was also reported that “the prime minister said from his discussions with the chief minister, he was convinced that the state’s model of native customary rights land development would ensure a better future for the Dayaks, particularly the Ibans”.

The Orang Ulu NCR lawyer said the state’s model of native customary rights land development referred to is the “new way” of developing NCR land popularly referred to as “The New Concept” or “Konsep Baru” - the idea of the present chief minister.


No confidence in 'Konsep Baru'

Under this “Konsep Baru”, the landowners would have 30 per cent shares equity, the developer 60 per cent and the state government 10 per cent.

“I am sad to say that the very first project launched in Kanowit based on this concept is a total failure. After 10 years of its launching, the developer is still unsure whether they can break-even in the years ahead thus causing much anxiety and trepidation to the natives who were lured into participating in this project years ago.”

He had been instructed by some of these natives to take legal action against the state government to protect the natives’ right over their NCR lands, as they have no confidence in this so called “Konsep Baru”.

“I dare say in the light of my knowledge of these issues, the statements made by the prime minister are mere political rhetoric, unless and until we can see in one month’s time, my suggestion referred above are implemented; i.e. the return of NCR lands that had already been taken away and the setting up of a Land Commission of Inquiry to investigate these complaints of violation of NCR land in Sarawak.”

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PRESS STATEMENT

It was reported as front page news in the Borneo Post on the 19th June 2009 that the BN Government will not take away the native customary lands of the natives. The PM was quoted to urge the people to “...have confident in Barisan Nasional (BN) government. We have no intention of grabbing anybody’s land. The Ibans should not worry. The BN government will not snatch your property.”

In reply I wish to say that this assurance if true, come too little too late. The fact and the truth is that the people’s land, in particular, the natives’ customary lands had already been taken, grabbed and snatched under the BN government. The fact that the PM made this statement today shows that the people in particular the natives are complaining that their NCR lands had been taken away summarily all these years.

The fact that my legal firm is handling over one hundred cases of NCR related cases show proofs that NCR lands had been taken, grabbed and snatched all these years, under the BN government, headed by the present CM Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud. Despite the landmark decision in the landmark case of Nor Anak Nyawai which was affirmed by Madeli Salleh’s case in the Federal Court, (the highest court in Malaysia), the present State BN Government of Sarawak refused to accept the said Court’s decision that NCR Land includes not only “temuda” (secondary forest) but it extends to their “Pemakai menua” (territorial domain) and “Pulau” (reserved or preserved virgin forests). This refusal to accept the Court’s decision is reflected in the State Attorney-General’s Chambers’ defences representing the State Government, in these cases now pending hearing in the various High Courts through out the State of Sarawak.

I therefore urge the Honourable Prime Minister, to order, instruct and/or at least advise the present BN State Government through the CM Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to return to the people all the NCR lands that had been “taken, grabbed and snatched” summarily all these years by revoking timber licences, provisional leases and replanting permit or other licences that includes and/or encroaches onto NCR lands. Secondly, order that an independent Land Commission of Inquiry be set up to investigate all these violation of claims of NCR lands in Sarawak including the abuses by the police force of complainants relating to NCR disputes with companies, to show to the people of Sarawak, and Malaysian at large that this PM walks his talk. This Land Commission of Inquiry should also look into all the hundred over cases now pending in the High Courts in Sarawak, thus helping in the backlog of cases in the High Court. If the above proposal is not done within 1 month from today, I am afraid these statements are mere political gimmicks just to mislead the people in particular the Natives of Sarawak that this BN Government is now concerned with their affairs and problems. I believe these are but signs of the impending State General Election now looming in the horizon.

Lastly, it was also reported that “The Prime Minister said from his discussions with Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud he was convinced that the State’s model of native customary rights land development would ensure a better future for the Dayaks, particularly the Ibans.”

I believe that the State’s model of native customary rights land development referred is the “new way” of developing NCR Land popularly referred to as “The New Concept” or “Konsep Baru” the ‘brain-child’ of the present CM. Under this ‘Konsep Baru’, the landowners would have 30% shares equity, the developer 60% and the State Government 10%. I am sad to say that the very first project launched in Kanowit based on this concept is a total failure. After 10 years of its launching, the developer is still unsure whether they can break-even in the years ahead thus causing much anxiety and trepidation to the natives who were lured in participating in this project years ago. I have been instructed by some of these natives to take legal action against the State Government to protect the natives’ right over their NCR lands, as they have no confidence in this so called “Konsep Baru” or as the PM said the “State’s model of native customary rights land development” referred in the news report.

I dare say in the light of my knowledge of these issues, the statements made by the Honourable PM are mere political rhetoric, unless and until we can see in one (1) month time, my suggestion referred above are implemented; i.e. the return of NCR lands that had already been taken away and the setting up of a Land Commission of Inquiry to investigate these complaints of violation of NCR over lands in Sarawak.

So Honourable PM, prove to us natives of Sarawak, that you walk your talk in these matters!

Dated this 20th June 2009

MR. BARU BIAN

NCR LAWYER CUM PKR POLITICAL BUREAU & SUPREME COUNCIL MEMBER

PM not told the truth about NCR ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/106788

The Sarawak government has been accused of deliberately misinforming the prime minister on the row over native customary rights (NCR) in the state.

“I am sure the prime minister has been ill-informed on the true situation of NCR land issues,” said Sarawak National Party’s Stanley Jugol in responding to a statement made by Najib Abdul Razak on the issue.

Najib, who was on a two-day visit to Sarawak, had assured the Ibans in Lubok Antu that the government would not snatch their land away.

“We have no intention of grabbing anybody’s land. The Ibans should not worry. The BN government will not take away your property,” he had told a huge gathering in Nanga San, Lubok Antu, about 250km from state capital Kuching.

“We want to ensure the future of the Ibans and we will solve the land problem that I know you are concerned about. You can have confidence on the BN government.”

However, Stanley pointed out that there are currently hundreds of disputes over NCR land before the courts.

“What will happen to the NCR land that has been taken away from the natives? The proof of this is the fact that there are more than 200 cases of NCR land filed by the natives against the government and companies. These cases are pending hearing.”

“I am sure the state government leaders are not telling the truth when they briefed the prime minister,” he said.

Native customary rights to land in Sarawak is a system of land tenure based on ‘adat’ (native customary laws), allowing the natives the right to cultivate the land and to benefit from the produce of the jungle, including hunting and fishing.


Stringent opposition to state’s NCR model

Under a government scheme, more than one million hectares of land - the bulk of which is NCR land - have been leased to companies for 60 years for the planting of oil palm.

Najib said that from his discussions with Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, he was convinced that the state’s NCR model would bring development to the Dayaks, particularly the Ibans.

But what Najib was not told was that there has been stringent opposition from the natives to the NCR land development promoted by the state government.

Under that scheme, only 30 percent of the equity is given to landowners, while state government-linked company Pelita Holdings has 10 percent, and the lion share, 60 percent, goes to investors.

Moreover, although the landowners hold 30 percent, they are in the dark about the management of the plantations as they are not included in the decision-making of the company.

“The Ibans are against this concept,” said Stanley.

Dayaks in S'wak BN 'should join PKR' ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/106472

Sarawak PKR leader Augustine Liom wants Dayaks in Barisan Nasional (BN) to join Pakatan Rakyat to change the state government, so that native customary rights (NCR) to land can be protected.

“It is a matter of urgency that we put into power a government that is kind to us and which is protective of our rights especially land rights and the rights to property as guaranteed in the federal constitution,” he said.

“Any support to the BN and its component parties means only a support to maintain a status quo. We get nowhere. A handful of seats to Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party, a handful seats for Parti Rakyat Sarawak and a handful of seats to Parti Bumiputra Bersatu and Sarawak United People’s Party. That is all.

“We continue to be split, divided, ruled and manipulated and to gradually lose our lands. So we have no choice but to go for a radical or revolutionary change in our political approach.”

Liom, a former judge, was recently appointed to head the land and human rights bureau of the state PKR. He was speaking at a Gawai Dayak dinner organised by the PKR women’s wing in Kuching.

“Our Dayak friends in BN ought to now join us to make this happen to change the state government. Otherwise posterity will not judge then too kindly [...]

“Do not be overwhelmed by your comfort of office that you forget where you have come from. I say ‘comfort of office’. I don’t say ‘comfort of power’ because we know that they do not have that much power.

“Real and meaningful power is in the exclusive domain of chief minister and his handful of inner circle of confidantes. They will not be so kind as to share that power.”

Liom said the results of the March 2008 parliamentary elections have led Sarawakians to realise the political reality.

“The Dayaks now need a national party as their political vehicle. Sarawak National Party is nominally alive. Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak is dead and gone. Malaysian Dayak Congress has not seen the light of the day.

“What we need is a political vehicle, that is PKR, and we need Malays like Anwar Ibrahim (right) to champion the Dayak cause, not Malays who will divide us or who will rob us of our NCR land.

“We place our trust in PKR and Anwar to champion the Dayak cause. This is a stark political reality we have to come to accept and to live with. There is now no alternative to that.”


‘Daylight robbery’

Liom said BN leaders have denied that the state government had robbed the people of their NCR to land.

“But when longhouse folks wake up one day to find tractors ploughing through their rubber or fruit trees on land they have toiled for generations and are told that the government had granted lease to their land to a logging or plantation company usually connected to people in power - is that not daylight robbery? That is what is happening in our midst,” he said.

He said the government would then tell the landowners to prove that it was NCR land, but that this is difficult when the original settlers have died and because landowners could not acquire NCR by purchase.

“So in effect, it means gradually and eventually NCR land will be no more. And that is the policy of the BN government,” he added.

“Have we heard any BN Dayak leader calling for a survey and for the issuance of titles to NCR land? No one in BN dares to make such a call. On such matter, only one man decides.”

PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was present, said: “If we want to change Sarawak for the better, then it is now or never.”

At a press conference after declaring open the Batu Kawa PKR service centre earlier, she said the party had held discussions with a number of past and present BN leaders to join the party before the end of the year.

“I am not going to reveal names. Let there be an element of surprise,” she said, without dismissing the possibility that some of these leaders are from Sarawak.

Sarawak parliamentarians under fire ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/106406

Sarawak Barisan Nasional parliamentarians have been accused of neglecting their duties when they failed to speak up for the welfare and the interests of the local people in the state.

'If they have any honour or self-respect they should resign. If not they should be sacked by the people.

"We elected our members of parliament to represent us vigorously in Parliament," said Padungan state assemblyperson, Dominique Ng.

The people of Sarawak have nothing to be happy about, he said, adding: "Despite being the richest state in terms of natural resources, we are the least developed and have the poorest people in Malaysia.

"We were not so bad comparatively at independence, but 47 years on, instead of progressing forward, we have steadily fallen backward due largely in part to non-performing BN members of parliament who have failed miserably in their solemn duties to make our voices heard at the federal level," said Ng, who is Sarawak's PKR leader.

He said that they have even failed to raise the issue of the five per cent oil royalty. It was only by electing Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarians that the state has any hope of increasing it to 20 per cent as promised by the PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim himself.

"It is now the national policy of PKR," he said.

The non-performance of Sarawak's MPs was revealed by the deputy speaker of Dewan Rakyat, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.


Very low rate of involvement

"Sarawak MPs are among the least active when it comes to speaking in parliament, thus they have very low rate of involvement during parliamentary debates." he said.

He said that when it came to attendance, theirs was said to be among the best. Unfortunately, their mere presence is hardly noticed because they were not as vocal or aggressive as their counterparts from the peninsula and Sabah.

"I dare say Sarawak MPs are the least interested to speak. They seldom speak. More often than not their presence in the Dewan Rakyat is never felt because they do not seize the opportunity to be noticed," he had said this to reporters.

However, he had a lot of praise for the sole DAP MP for Bandar Kuching, Chong Chieng Jen for being very vocal.

DAP state assemblyperson for Batu Lintang, Voon Lee San, said that Barisan Nasional MPs by not performing or under performing have done a great disservice to the state.

"By not performing or under performing, they have caused slow infrastructure development and restriction of funds and foreign investments into the state as relevant ministries could not plan for the needs of the state.

"Issues on oil and gas royalty and the plight of the Dayaks being left behind from the mainstream of development including protection of native lands will not be solved," Voon said.

He added: "They should take political responsibility and resign. Parliament is a place where the voices of people should be heard and MPs should not take their tasks lightly. They are to lead the nation and should be very knowledgeable and capable to impart knowledge without fear or favour.


'Sarawak useless people's party'

"These MPs from Sarawak are under the political class known as Sarawak useless people's party (SUPP)," he said.

A Parti Rakyat Sarawak supreme council member Joseph Allen said that Dayak MPs did not speak in parliament because they lacked the materials for their speeches.

"What they should do is to make use of Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA), Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU), NGOs and Dayak bloggers as their 'think tank' and to give them some issues. Not all that these people say are wrong," he said.

Allen said that they should mix more with these people so that they would know what were the needs and the problems faced by the Dayaks.

"They should raise issues like NCR land and environmental problems caused by oil palm plantations so much so that there are no fish in the rivers. Bring these issues to parliament. Let the prime minister know about them," he said.

He said that there seemed to be a tendency to leave the thinking to one man only, in the case of Sarawak, to Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.


Infected with the 'culture of fear'

After Taib had said it, the rest would follow suit and heaped praises on him, said Allen.

SDNU publicity chief John Anthony Brian shared the sentiments expressed by Allen and said that the Sarawak MPs did not have a clear master plan for the state and did not do what was relevant.

Further more, they had this "culture of fear" and anything controversial they said might jeopardise their chances of being renominated in the coming election. They knew that all issues were tightly-controlled by the chief minister and they were scared of him, he said.

Brian said that they, therefore, preferred to make up for the number only, but then they looked like idiots.

Another PRS leader Tedewin Ngumbang described the MPs' non-performance as tantamount to betraying their electorate and the parties they represented.

"Party presidents should call their MPs and strategise on what to bring up in parliament each time a session is on. Now the MPs have no clue what to bring up except routine matters only," he said.

Sarawak has 31 MPs, including one from DAP. Out of the 30 BN MPs, there are 14 Dayak MPs. Two of the MPs are made full-fledged ministers and nine deputy ministers.

Sarawak PKR revamps leadership to face polls ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/105715

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) today has announced a new list of leaders for Sarawak, an effort to strengthen the party in view of the upcoming state elections, which may be called any time between year-end and mid-2011.

The emphasis of the new leadership is on rural areas where Dayaks, after the March 8, 2008 parliamentary election, have now become significant numbers in the party, said Mustaffa Kamil Ayub, the newly appointed chief of the state liaison in a media conference today.

"The number of Dayaks in the party has increased significantly, especially after the last parliamentary election," said Mustaffa, who took over from Anwar Ibrahim last month as the liaison chief.

"It is important, therefore, we give an emphasis to the participation of the Dayaks in the party," he said, pointing out that PKR is now a real multi-racial party of Dayaks, Chinese, Malays and others.

He added that the initiatives taken by certain Dayak leaders to join PKR have opened the minds and eyes of their supporters so much so that they too have now joined the party.

To date, about 30,000 people had joined PKR and more applications are being processed, he said.


State leadership council to unify members

In line with the latest development in the party, it is therefore important for the party to reorganise its leadership at the state level with the formation of a State Leadership Council and various sub-committees, he said, adding: "This new structure is made more important in view of the coming state election.

The State Leadership Council, which would consists of leaders from various ethnic groups, would act as the state ‘think tank' responsible for implementation of policies and activities of the PKR Sarawak.

"It is hoped also that the formation of this council will bring the people of Sarawak closer to the party," he said.

Various working committees, Mustaffa said, would implement programmes and activities that have been assigned to them.

Appointments would take effect as of June 3, 2009.

Meanwhile, PKR Sarawak has now formed 14 divisions: Santubong, Petra Jaya, Stampin, Bandar Kuching, Kota Samarahan, Serian, Batang Sadong, Betong, Saratok, Sibu, Miri, Bintulu, Baram and Julau.

Another 14 divisions which are waiting to be approved include Batang Lupar, Sri Aman, Lubok Antu, Sarikei, Ulu Rajang, Lanang, Selangau, Kapit, Sibuti, Lawas, Mas Gading, Mambong, Kanowit and Limbang.

Discussions are also in progress for the formation of Mukah, Matu and Tanjong Manis divisions.

PKR Sarawak is forming its divisions based on the number of parliamentary constituencies, of which Sarawak has 31.

The following is the leadership and management structure of PKR Sarawak:

Overall adviser: Anwar IbrahimAdvisers: Hafsah Harun, Michael Bong and Dominique Ng

Chairman: Mustaffa Kamil Ayub

State leadership council: Gabriel Adit, Baru Bian, Nicholas Bawin Anggat, Granda Aing, Wan Zainal Wan Sanusi, Baharuddin Mohsen, Dr. Michael Teo, Jawah Gerang, Augustine Liom, Jimmy Donald and Abang Zulkifli Abang Ebgkeh (secretary)

Working committees: Piee bin Lin (Secretary), Mexlian Gombek and Zulhaidah Hadie @ Suboh (Assistant secretaries), Wong Huan Yu (treasurer), George Chen (Assistant treasurer), See Chee How (Information Officer) Norhanim Mohsen and Zulrusdi Hol (Assistant Information officers), Ibi Uding (Women chief), and Rahmat Aidil (Youth)

Election bureau: Mustaffa Kamil Ayub (chairman), Haji Baharuddin,Voon Shiak Ni, Boniface Willy Tumek, Munan Laja, Dr. Manssor Husin, Loo Chao Min, Harrison Ngau, Granda Aing, Zulrusdi Hol and Wan Zainal Wan Senusi

Strategy bureau: Granda Aing (chairman) and Wan Zainal Wan Sanusi

Education bureau: Dr. Mansor Husin (Chairman), Stanney Embat and Zurinawati Zaidel

Training bureau: Lokman Aba Ibrahim (chairman), Mumbang Hillary Mukit, Zulhaidah Subuh, Bobby William and Tan Tian Mine

Integration bureau: Paul Raja (chairman), Dr. Francis Ngu,Dr. Idwar Bakarudin and Lawrence Dick Sakalai

Policy bureau: Dr. Christopher Kiyui (chairman), Angela Baginda, Frankie Bedindang Manjah, Abang Zulkifli Engkeh, Dr. Lau Liak Koi and Mod. Said @ Beti Gapur

Welfare and health bureau: Abang Othman Abg. Gom (chairman), Dr. Michael teo, Vincent Sijem. Lina Soo, Hung Soon Hu and Cecilia Stanney

Land and human rights bureau: Augustine Liom (chairman), Ali Basah, Henry Joseph, Desmond Khoo, Arif Ameran and Ahmad Nazib Johari

Environment Bureau: Harrison Ngau (chairman) Simon Tiong, Maxlien Gombek and Ong Fook Fong

Tajem and group win pension case against S'wak ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/104440

Former deputy chief minister of Sarawak, and nine former members of Dewan Undangan Negeri and administration have won their case against the state government, which had failed to pay their enhanced pensions even though they were entitled to such privileges under the law.

They had to sue the government to seek justice. Their case was heard by the High Court of Kuching on March 28, 2008 which ordered the state government to pay in the case of Tajem (pic above) one half of his salary of RM12,500 per month and one half of his salary as a member of Dewan Undangan Negeri of RM3,000 and that amount came to be RM7,750 a month.

The pension should have been calculated based on the June 1, 1992 amendment of the Members of the Administration and Members of Dewan Undangan Negeri (Remuneration, Pensions and Gratuities) Ordinance 1980.

But the government failed to pay his enhanced pensions. Instead the government paid him only a pension of RM3,000 a month.

The state government went to the Court of Appeal. The case was heard on Feb 19, 2009 and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Kuching High Court.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal, the state government represented by JC Fong, state legal counsel, applied to the Federal Court for leave of appeal. The case was heard last week and the Apex court concurred with the decision of the Court of Appeal.


More legal actions likely

Following the decision, the state government may have to face more legal actions from former members of the Dewan Undangan Negeri, former ministers, assistant ministers, political secretaries and their widows who are in similar positions.

Tajem, who represented the group at the Federal Court hearing had served as deputy chief minister in the cabinets of Abdul Rahman Yakub and later Abdul Taib Mahmud from 1980 to 1987.

Contacted today, he said that the decision of the Federal Court has a snowballing effect.

“In truth, it is a representative action on behalf of the former members of Dewan Undangan Negeri and former members of the Administration.

“The government has failed to honour these people who had served the state and who are entitled to enhanced pensions which came into effect after June 1, 1992.

“All elected representatives, ministers, assistant ministers and political secretaries who have been pensioned must be given enhanced pensions according to the law, which have been denied due to misinterpretation of the law by the state government,” he said.

“There are 10 former members of the state assembly who have instituted court proceedings against the government for the payment of arrears against their pensions,” he said, adding that the government might have to come up with at least RM5 million to pay them.


'Arrears of eight years to be paid'

“Even the arrears of payment of the 10 who have taken suits could easily amount to RM2 million and to be back-dated to six years from the day they filed the suits. And most of these cases have been ongoing for more than two years.

“That means arrears of eight years to be paid,” he added.

Among them, Tajem, who has monthly arrears of RM2,750 is expected to receive more than RM300,000 in arrears plus interests. Former minister Hafsah Harun is next and is followed by former assistant minister Ambrose Gramong. Gramong has monthly arrears of RM2,000. The others are former members of Dewan Undangan Negeri and political secretaries.

There are also those who will ride the bandwagon and they include former deputy chief minister Dunstan Endawie, former ministers Joseph Balan Seling, Tajang Laing, Leo Moggie and Sulaiman Daud.

After the order has been extracted, Tajem said that all the litigants would present a bill of costs to be taxed against the government.

“The government will be given a time frame to pay, failing which they may take a writ of mandamus against the chief minister to compel him to pay the sums due,” he said.

Dayaks furious over Entulu proposal ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/104047

Dayaks furious over Entulu proposal

Federal deputy minister Joseph Entulu has provoked angry reactions with his suggestion to drop the word ‘Dayak’ in describing the 26 non-Muslim native communities in Sarawak.

Entulu, who is rural and regional development deputy minister, had said last Saturday that the word ‘Dayaks’ conveys negative connotations like being uncivilised, uncouth and low class.

“Some leaders of Sarawak non-Muslim communities had some years ago suggested to government to stop using the term. I believe the term has the tacit support of the leaders and people concerned,” he had said.

“I believe it will be more tactful and exact if specific terminology like Iban, Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit and so forth, be used. I have heard of bitter experiences where Dayaks working in peninsula were turned away when they wanted to invest in Amanh Saham Nasional or when they applied for low-cost housing because some people there thought they were not bumiputeras.”

Temenggong James Jimbun said Entulu should have consulted the Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU), Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) and other Dayak associations before making such an important statement.

“Do some research and find out the sentiments of other people and you cannot take it upon yourself to speak on their behalf,” he said in remarks directed at Entulu.

A Dayak leader of PKR, who refused to be identified, said: “The government has taken our resources and now it is going to take away our identity.”

He said that Entulu should know that, of the 26 tribes, the Iban, Bidayuh and Lun Bawang communities would lose their rights as natives, as these names are not stated in Article 161A (5), (6) and (7) of the federal constitution.

Describing Entulu’s remarks as seditious, he claimed that these were intended to shut down the basis for the existence of SDNU. And if so, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) should no longer claim to represent the Dayaks.


‘Unwarranted remarks’

SDNU publicity officer John Anthony Brain urged the government to call for public dialogue before ending the reference to ‘Dayak’.

“Are the Chinese, also going to go by groupings such as Teochew, Hakka, Foochow, Kek and Hokkien? Or the Malays into Bugis, Javanese, Batak, Padang, Pakistan and Iran? Or the Indians into Malayalees, Tamils, Gujaratis, Bagalis and Punjabis?” he asked.

Describing Entulu’s remarks as unwarranted, Brian said: “Dayak is the keyword that gives meaning to (SDNU) which has about 36,000 members, and to its women’s wing, Serakup Indu Dayak Sarawak, as well as its Sarawak Dayak Youth Association.

“Today the government is suggesting that the term ‘Dayak’ should not be used any more to describe indigenous people of Sarawak. Why?”

Entulu’s supporters, meanwhile, said it was useless to pretend to be united under the term ‘Dayak’ when every single community wants its own association.

For example, the Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit, Berawan, Bisayah, Lun Bawang and Iban communities go their separate ways and insist on having their own associations.

“We tried before to unite all the ethnic groups under one political umbrella ore even under SDNU, but they have gone their on way,” said Joseph Allen, a PRS supreme council member.

Dominique Ng arrested

BREAKING NEWS State assemblyperson for Padungan Dominique Ng was arrested tonight together with 10 Parti Keadilan Rakyat members including his wife, Lim Phang Lian.

Edil Rahmat, head of PKR youth movement in the State and a famous blogger, Lina Soo were also arrested for taking part in an illegal assembly at the Kuching Water Front when they lighted candles for vigil for democracy in Perak.

All of them were wearing “black” T- shirts.

Earlier at around 7.30 pm Police have closed all roads leading to the Kuching Water Front to stop PKR members from holding the peaceful candlelight vigil to support their colleagues in Perak.

But Ng in “smses” to all his friends warned them that they should be prepared to walk to the Kuching Water Front.

Said Ng, who is also the chairman of the PKR division in Kuching, said: “I have never seen so many Police personnel doing their duties to arrest the most dangerous ‘terrorists’.

At the time of writing, they were still at the Kuching Central Police station.

S'wak gov't defeated in landmark NCR ruling ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/103680

The Federal Court has upheld the concept of native customary rights (NCR) to land as including not only one class of such land called "temuda" (cultivated land), but also "pulau galau" (communal forest) and "pemakai menua" (territorial domain).

The apex court delivered its ruling today in Kuching, in an application by the Sarawak government in a case initiated by local Malay Madehi Salleh to claim NCR rights over former Shell concession land in Miri.

Lawyers dealing in NCR cases were quick to point out the implications of the decision for some 200 land cases filed to date against the state government and companies that have obtained leases mainly for plantation and logging activities.

So long as NCR claimants can provide sufficient evidence to support their claims, logging and plantation companies may now find themselves in a quandary unless they are prepared to negotiate.

Madehi had taken the state government to court in 2007 over his rights to 6.6 acres of land and won the case.

However, the state government successfully appealed the decision in the Court of Appeal, following which Madehi turned to the Federal Court and won his case in October 2007.

The court recognised the pre-existence of NCR before the coming into force of any statue or legislation, in particular the Rajah Order of 1921. It said the reservation of the land under the Rajah’s Order for Sarawak Oilfields Ltd (SOL) did not have the effect of extinguishing NCR to the land.

There was no provision whatsoever in the Rajah’s Order that extinguished Madeli’s NCR to his tract of land, the judges said, noting that all it did was to reserve the land for SOL.

Furthermore, the Federal Court said native rights to occupy untitled land in accordance with customary laws subsisted in an area reserved for operation of SOL. Individual rights of natives were the same as communal rights, it added.

Application dismissed

The Sarawak government, unhappy with the decision, then applied to the Federal Court to review its own decision.

Today, however, the court disagreed that the applicants had met the threshold requirement and dismissed the review application with costs.

The Federal Court’s quorum comprised the Chief Justice of Sarawak and Sabah Richard Malanjun, Hashim Yusuf and Zulkifli Ahmad Makinudin.

Appearing for the applicants (Sarawak government) were State Legal Counsel JC Fong and his assistant Safri Ali. Miri-based lawyer Mekanda Singh Sandhu and his son Sathinda represented Madehi.

Sathinda told Malaysiakini later that the judgment can now be applied to all NCR land cases after this.

Millions of hectares of land have been leased out over the past 20 years to many companies and state agencies.

The Federal Court ruling re-affirmed a similar landmark finding in the Nor Nyawai & Others v Borneo Pulp and Plantation case in Bintulu in 2001.

Stanny to defence of Ibans ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/103618

Sarawak PKR’s Stanny Embat has criticised state deputy chief minister Alfred Jabu anak Numpang for speaking ill of the Iban community.
Stanny said it was unfair of Jabu (pic above) to generalise the Ibans as irresponsible, when there are only a few bad apples among some one million members of the community.

“Such remarks are not only unfair, but are a mockery of the achievements of, and contributions made by, many members both in their personal and public life,” Stanny said in a statement.

His remarks followed Jabu’s accusations that the Ibans are involved in wasteful habits like drinking, gambling and cock fighting, and that they have not made much progress especially in education.

Countering this, Stanny said: “Like other active communities, there are few Ibans who drink, gamble and waste their time, but the majority are responsible, hard-working and practise a healthy lifestyle.

“Not a few Ibans now are highly educated and qualified people. Some hold top posts in both the private and public sectors.”

Describing Ibans as an advanced group, he added: “The Ibans of today aspire to be contractors, traders, managers and owners of businesses instead of being daily paid harvesters of oil palm fruits.”
On the cock-fighting issue, he said this is a well-controlled pastime associated with rituals and ceremonies and that the police are strict when issuing licences for such sessions.


Psychological warfare?

Stanny, a special branch police officer before he retired a couple of years ago, is seen by many as a firebrand politician.

Given that this is his first statement, political observers see it as the start of psychological warfare against Jabu, a veteran politician.

Stanny, who was recently appointed chairperson of PKR Layar division, is also tipped to challenge Jabu for the Layar state seat when state elections are due to be held by May 2011.

Jabu, also the rural development minister and minister for infrastructure development, had been quoted as saying that certain Ibans would rather spent their money on cock-fighting and are prepared to splurge between RM100 and RM1,000 on a bird, instead of saving for their children’s education.

He added that these habits have hindered the community from producing successful individuals when compared to the Kelabits, who are a minority among the Dayaks.

Jabu under fire over NCR scheme ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/103229

By Tony Thien Apr 28, 09 12:38pm

A Miri-based Dayak NGO has taken Sarawak's most senior Dayak minister Alfred Jabu to task for 'once again shortchanging the community' through one of the state government's most praised native customary land development schemes’ commonly known as 'konsep baru' or new concept.

It cited the latest incident which involved the Iban communities from Rumah Belili and Rumah Ranggong situated at Ulu Niah, Miri Division.

Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia (Brimas) executive director Mark Bujang said last Thursday, Jabu (right) handed out a total of RM436,708.20 in dividends and bonuses to 226 participants of the Ulu Niah NCR Joint Venture Project.

At first glance, he said, the total amount seems reasonable if the payment of dividends and bonuses are for the year 2008, but upon checking with the participants, it was learnt that this is the first time in 10 years that the JV project has paid out dividends or bonuses.

“If we were to make the assumption that the dividends and bonuses are divided equally among the scheme participants, each participant would receive about RM1,932,” he added.

Divide that by 10 years, he said, each participant would only get RM193 per year. This, he added, is a far cry from the government's promise that the scheme would uplift the socio-economic status of the Dayaks.

Snek Bagat, one of the residents of Rumah Ranggong, said: "I was looking forward to receiving the dividends and bonuses from our investment (in the JV project). But I was shocked to find out that our investment only yielded 50 cents per month after 10 years. Not enough to buy a cup of coffee."

Why the sudden need to do so?

Meanwhile, Bujang questioned the need to hand out dividends and bonuses after 10 years. "Why does the government and the JV company have a sudden interest with the NCR landowners after they have been neglected all these while?"

"Is it because that the community of Rumah Belili and Rumah Ranggong are suing the private investor BLD Resources Sdn. Bhd. for not keeping its end of the bargain?" he asked.

Previously, in 1999, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between BLD Sdn. Bhd (sister company of BLD Resources), Sarawak Land Development Board (SLDB) and the NCR landowners at Ulu Niah, where Rumah Belili and Rumah Ranggong were the participating longhouses, to develop the Ulu Niah NCR land based on the ‘konsep baru’ scheme.

Jabu and the then Sarawak Minister for Housing Celestine Ujang handed out the 10 percent upfront payment worth RM294,990 in 2001.

However, in 2008, a resident of Rumah Ranggong, Changgai Dali was sued by BLD Resources for allegedly trespassing into BLD’s plantation. When Changgai and his longhouse folks disputed this they discovered to their horror that their NCR JV project was cancelled - reason given was the government made a mistake saying the land is NCR.

Commenting on the dividends and bonuses received, Changgai said: "We thank Jabu for handing out the dividends and bonuses to us, but we are not happy with the amount."

"How come after all these years, this is all we get? Jabu not once mentioned the status of our land during the ceremony. When I asked Jabu if he could withdraw the provisional lease of the company, he replied that he does not have the authority," he added.

Problems in other schemes

In another case, Jabu also handed out dividends amounting to RM52 million to 16,480 participants for the year 2008 in another NCR land development scheme managed by another state government agency, the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra), where Jabu is also its chairman.

According to an article sourced from a blogsite, Anilnetto.com, Salcra should have netted profits amounting to RM292 million for 2008 taking into account the price of oil palm that year. Jabu announced that another RM22 million had been set aside for loan repayments.

The article went on to say that the net balance after dividends and loan repayments should have amounted to RM218 million, or RM13,240 per participant.

The article questioned Salcra on where the balance of the money went. The article went on to state that even if 50 percent is withheld to allow for reinvestment and replanting, that would still amount to RM109 million or RM6,620 per participant to be accounted for.

In another NCR JV scheme in Suai, Miri Division, the Penans from Kampung Ugos threatened to withdraw from the said scheme launched by Jabu himself in 1998 if the state government agency the Sarawak Land Development Board (SLDB) did not disclose transparently the official documents, records, JV agreements and statement of accounts of the company.

The Penans also complained that they do not know how SLDB arrived at the amount of dividends paid which is exactly RM500,000 and they do not know which private investor company is in the JV. Some of the scheme participants have died not knowing what will happen to their land and their investment.

Taib in a quandary over Sng's cabinet position ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/103007

With Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s cabinet reshuffle imminent, focus is on Larry Sng, an assistant minister in the Chief Minister’s Department and assistant minister of industrial development, who has been ‘party-less’ since April last year.

Is Taib going to retain or drop him? That is the question many people, especially members of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), are pondering.

Sng was expelled from PRS after a leadership crisis which began in May 2006 and which led to the election of two presidents in the party with two sets of supreme councils and two headquarters.

While Sng was ‘elected’ to be president of one faction, James Masing, on the other hand, was ‘elected’ to head the other faction by his own supporters.

Sng (pic above) had a promising career with PRS, holding a senior post in the party when it was formed following the de-registration of the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) in 2004.

Elected at the Iban-majority Pelagus constituency on a PBDS ticket on his first electoral outing in 2002, Sng was then appointed assistant minister two years later at the tender age of 25 in a cabinet reshuffle.

It is known that he was strongly recommended to the chief minister by Masing in order to show his (Masing’s) gratitude to Larry’s father Sng Chee Hua, who together with Masing successfully de-registered PBDS to form PRS.

Sng’s appointment as assistant minister by-passed some of the most senior state assembly persons in the party.

Will Taib entertain Masing’s request?

But the fall-out began when the young and ambitious Sng challenged Masing for the top post of the Dayak-based PRS, a move considered by observers to be Sng’s biggest mistake.

Sensing a threat to his leadership, Masing then expelled Sng’s men from the party in order to curtail his influence.

The expulsion of party secretary-general Sidi Munan, deputy publicity chief Earnest Chua and supreme council member Sng Chee Beng, plus the ‘reassignment’ of Sng himself from deputy secretary-general to publicity chief triggered the protracted leadership crisis in the party.

One effect of the expulsions was that the party split down the middle with each faction ‘electing’ their own presidents both with their own supreme councils and party headquarters. The two protagonists proceeded to accuse each other of conducting party affairs illegally.

The problem was more or less solved when the Registrar of Societies on April 1 last year recognised Masing’s power under the party’s constitution to hire and fire officials and office -bearers. Sng and members of his faction were then expelled.

In the latest development, Masing (pic below) yesterday wrote to the chief minister to officially inform him that Sng was no longer a PRS member and that he should be replaced by another state assemblyperson from the party in the cabinet.

Masing’s request has placed Taib in a quandary although it is the chief minister’s prerogative to select any one to be in his cabinet.

Will Taib entertain Masing’s request? To not do so would mean that Taib does not regard PRS as an important partner in the state BN coalition and already there are grumbles in PRS that Taib is ‘bullying’ the party.

Drop Sng, and Taib will have to incur the wrath of Sng’s rich and famous father-in-law, Ting Phek Khiing, who is also Taib’s close ally.

Keeping a low profile

But nobody knows what game is Taib is playing. Seemingly, Masing has an advantage as he has seven state assembly persons and six parliamentarians with him.

Looking at the matter from this perspective explains why the promised cabinet reshuffle has been delayed a number of times, generating more interest along the way not only in PRS, but also among the Dayak community as they speculate on Taib’s next move.

Many think that Taib may not carry out the reshuffle although there are a number of vacancies which have yet to be filled especially after Sarawak United People’s Party’s (Supp) two assistant ministers were defeated in the 2006 state election.

The best solution for Taib, observers say, would be to carry on as usual until the next state election due in mid- 2011 or earlier. This way, he neither pleases nor incurs the wrath of anyone.

Sng, meanwhile, is keeping a low profile and concentrating on discharging his duties. He refuses to comment on rumours that he may join Supp soon.

On his political future, he will leave it to the chief minister. “I am not a fortune-teller so I don’t think I have business telling the future,” he said.

“There are a lot of things to do and serving the people is my priority now. I intend to continue serving the people until the people think that there are better people to serve them and their interests.”

Turmoil in Dayak longhouses ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/102716

The politicalisation of Dayak institutions have caused a major split in the Iban community, claimed Nicholas Mujah, secretary-general of Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia).

“The politicalisation of (the posts of) tuai rumah (longhouse chiefs) and penghulu - who these days are being appointed by politicians or political parties - is causing a big split in the longhouses," said Mujah .

“Previously, the selection of tuai rumah and penghulu was by the people, for the people and of the people. Unless Iban customs are upheld, there will be no unity (in the community).

”Mujah was responding to comments by Parti Rakyat Sarawak president James Masing who had said that politics within the Dayak community, particularly in the rural areas, has been “fluid until now because there is lack of the smart factor”.

Masing said this is evident among the rural Dayaks whose political stand is seldom firm. He urged educated and intellectual Dayaks to help educate the members of the community, so that they are not manipulated by others.

He claimed that some Dayaks intellectuals are going to the longhouses to incite the people to reject government policies, adding that their campaign of hatred has caused the Dayaks to be further fragmented in politics.

Mujah responded: “I am happy that Masing has realised the weaknesses of the Dayak leaders. The most important thing is that Masing and his group of Dayak leaders can rectify these weaknesses and go back to basics to learn from history.

“I refer in particular to the land (code) amendment in 2000. Despite knowing that the amendment would disadvantage the Dayaks, none of the Dayak legislators dared to oppose it or even felt concerned.”

Mujah rejected Masing’s accusation that Dayak intellectuals are inciting the people to turn against the government.

“I do not agree. I can say that these Dayak intellectuals are only advising their parents not to be cheated another time,” he said.

People confused

Commenting on the same issue, Sarawak Dayak National Union publicity officer John Anthony Brian said the rural people are confused as they cannot distinguish truth from propaganda.They did not know who to trust as some politicians do not tell the whole truth, he said. And because of conflicting statements, the people tend to be sceptical.

Citing the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) as an example, Brain said certain politicians have claimed that Salcra provides many benefits to those participating in the land schemes. However, many have received only RM8 per day or very small dividends per year, he claimed.

Brian, who runs the Dayak Baru.com website, said: “The Dayaks want to see things happen in their area and want the government to deliver its promises. They have heard so many promises. As far as the people of Batang Ai are concerned, they have kicked the ball back to the government (to deliver its pledge of development projects).”

Lawyer and politician Baru Bian said the notion of being politically ‘smart’ is a subjective one.“I don’t think I subscribe to political smartness for the sake of political survival. I prefer correctness. But anyway (Masing) is wrong - as if Dayak leaders are not smart. They are!” he added.