Stop NCR land-grabs, ‘cocky’ BN told

Despite a High Court ruling favouring native customary rights (NCR) land issue, natives in Sabah continue to suffer in the hands of politically-linked companies.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Barisan Nasional government, described as ‘cocky and arrogant’ by local opposition party DAP, must put a stop immediately on native customary rights (NCR) land-grabs by influential companies in the state.

Thousands of poor rural folk are being short-changed by wealthy private companies who are grabbing every piece of land they can lay their hands on in the state and pushing the already poor into a position where they can not fend for themselves.

DAP assistant-secretary Junz Wong claimed that despite the numerous complaints, the state government had not stepped in to put a stop to the trend.

He criticised the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) government and its leaders for forgetting their roots to defend the rights of their native voters.

“After winning 59 out of the 60 state seats in the 12th general election and having the BN government in Putrajaya, the Sabah BN government is so cocky and arrogant that it does not care much about the plight of the local Sabahans.

“The BN government continues to allow the natives to suffer unnecessarily despite a ruling on the NCR issue by the High Court recently,” he said.

“These indigenous people have been short changed. Many of the BN leaders have forgotten that we all started from the land as farmers and fishermen.

“While these leaders have moved up economically, many natives continue to live on and depend on their crops and fruits for a living.

“Unfortunately, the BN government has very little respect for NCR lands,” he said in a statement.

Deliver justive

Wong was responding to a report of a land grab case at Kota Marudu where 10 families were forcefully evicted from their homes on farmland which they lay claim to have lived on since the colonial British administration.

Wong said the indigenous people are being systematically marginalised and challenged the native leaders in BN component parties, namely Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Joseph Pairin Kitingan, United Pasokmomogun Kadazan Dusun Murut Organisation (Upko) president Bernard Dompok, and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) president Joseph Kurup to return the land to the natives.

“What are our native leaders going to say or do? These are the people who have voted for you all these years and they deserve better services from the native leaders.

“The injustice against the indigenous people of Sabah is mounting but you (native leaders) are doing nothing. Please do the right thing and give justice to your people,” he said.

He also reminded that non-Muslim native leaders who are unable to have their voice heard despite being in the government to reconsider their position and resign their posts and align with political parties that can help them serve their constituents.