Poser over native rights in land case

A NCR case in Kota Kinabalu High Court is being closely watched for its far-reaching implications on the rights of natives.

By David Thien

KOTA KINABALU: Six natives from Kampung Imahit, some 450km from here, who are seeking to overturn their conviction for trespassing into a forest reserve to plant hill paddy, will have to wait a little longer for the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s verdict.

The six – Andawan Bin Ansapi, Barani Bin Ambisi, Ansanam @ Azman Bin Yapau, Johndy Bin Kawar, Stanley Bin Boyor and Sarim Bin Arus – were found guilty, by the Tenom magistrate’s court on Nov 12 last year, of trespassing into the Kuala Tomani Forest Reserve and for cultivating hill paddy.

They were collectively fined RM6,000.

Dissatisfied with the decision, the natives have appealed the conviction and are seeking the right to freely cultivate “ancestral lands that existed even before Malaysia or Sabah”.

High Court judge David Wong, who is presiding over the case, is expected to provide a written judgment on March 4 pertaining to their native customary rights (NCR).

The judgment is expected to have an implication on many other similar cases before the court.

Sabah has recorded the highest number of complaints on land issues in Malaysia, at 977 cases.

The issue before the court here is whether the NCR – which cannot be extinguished by legislation as affirmed in the Federal Court case of the Superintendant of Land & Survey, Miri, Sarawak vs Madeli Salleh – will negate the six natives’ conviction.

The six were detained by the Forestry Department on Oct 20, 2009 and were charged under Section 20 (1) (c) (i) of the Forestry Enactment for encroachment and under Section 20 (1) (b) (iii) of the Forestry Enactment for cultivation in the forest reserve.

They were among 13 men and women who were detained on Oct 20.

The six men were, however, remanded for another three days at the Tenom police station lock-up under the Forestry Enactment 1968 for trespassing into a forest reserve and for cultivating crops in a forest reserve.

Pleading innocent, the natives said they were not informed of the forest reserve’s gazettement and were not consulted over the matter.

They also claimed that the Forestry Department had evicted them from their ancestral lands where more than 100 graves of their ancestors were sited. - FMT