Hundreds of NGO members took part in a rally dubbed '123 Bangkit' in Kota Kinabalu this morning to protect native customary rights (NCR) land.
The rally, organised by a group dubbed Bela Tanah Rakyat Sabah (Tabah), began at a field in Anjung Selera, Likas, before the participants marched to Wisma Innoprise, a building 200 metres away that houses the office of Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman.
A memorandum urging the state government to return NCR lands back to the people and their original owners was supposed to be submitted to Musa's office.
However, Tabah treasurer Mohd Firdaus Mohd Noor expressed disappointment that their representatives were denied entry into the building. They could only gather with the other participants under a tree in front of the building.
"Initially, we wanted to hand the memorandum to the chief minister. We had written him a letter beforehand, asking him to accept the letter. Unfortunately the chief minister did not appear, just his representative.
"His representative came to the tree... So we decided to cancel the handing over of the memorandum. We will choose another date to call a bigger rally," Mohd Firdaus said when contacted byMalaysiakini today.
The group says NCR land is a critical issue in Sabah, with scores of complaints including grabbing, trespassing and fraud.
The participants dispersed peacefully around 10.30am, said Mohd Firdaus, who is also Sabah PAS Youth media official.
'Musa is a coward'
Last night, PAS central committee member Mazlan Aliman, who also leads Anak, the NGO opposing the listing of Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd, and who planned to attend the rally, was barred from entering Sabah.
Mazlan, who is head of PAS' land and territories bureau, was supposed to show his solidarity with the rally participants this morning.
He was detained by Sabah immigration officials for more than two hours before being deported back to Peninsular Malaysia, without any explanation given.In a statement today, the frustrated PAS leader called Musa (left) a "coward and arrogant".
Mazlan said: "I repeatedly questioned why was I detained and denied entry into Sabah, what wrong I have done and what crime have I committed.
"They gave me no reason, except that the instruction came from the state authority! I was under tight control and in hunger. Not only was I not given food, not even a glass of water!"
He lodged a police report on his detention at Kota Kinabalu airport police beat.
This was not the first time Mazlan has been denied entry into East Malaysia. He faced the same treatment in Sarawak two years ago.
'Musa and Taib live in fear'
These actions by both Sabah and Sarawak state governments, he said, showed that Musa and Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud were in fear because the severity of the NCR land issue has escalated.
Mazlan also blasted Musa for assigning a low-ranking official to receive the Tabah memorandum "by the roadside" this morning.
"Where areMusa and the other senior ministers? The people have been humiliated by the BN government. What is wrong in allowing the NGO representatives and villagers into the lobby of the state government building at least?
"This is how Musa treats the people. Where is slogan, 'people first, performance now'?" Mazlan added in the statement.
Semoga demonstrasi ini mampu mengesa kerajaan Sabah untuk menyelesaikan masalah NCR serta melindungi hak dan status NCR rakyat.
ReplyDeleteYang penting demonstrasi ini dijalan dengan tenang, message juga boleh sampai ke piahk yang berkenaan.
Deleteharap isyarat yang ingin dibawa sampai ke pihak berkuasa.
DeletePihak polis perlulah membantu menjaga keamanan semasa perhimpunan tersebut untuk memastikan tiada sebarang kekecohan yang timbul.
ReplyDeletePihak polis harus memantau dan memastikan perhimpunan ini dijalan dan diakhiri dengan tenang.
DeleteThe Sabah government is doing everything to the best of their capasity to ensure that the natives in the state do not lose their native customary rights (NCR) to their ancestral land.
ReplyDeleteThe concern of the natives residing in forest reserve areas throughout Sabah, who claimed they have been robbed of their land has gained the attention of the State Government. This was expressed by the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun.
ReplyDeleteDue to this awareness, the state government has taken measures to address the land ownership issue and have set in place to ensure the natives’ NCR are well protected.
ReplyDeleteIt will be done again in 2 weeks time.
DeleteAccording to Masidi, the issuance of communal title land was one of the measures introduced by the government to prevent state lands, which are supposed to be owned by locals, from falling into the hands of outsiders.
ReplyDeleteMasidi added that there were two main reasons for issuing communal grant – to assure the villagers that the land is still theirs as well as prevent land grabs by outsiders and secondly, to ensure no irresponsible natives sell their lands to others instead of tilling the land themselves.
ReplyDeleteReturn the land to the people if they rightly theirs.
ReplyDeleteDo not mix up with the political agenda
Demonstrasi ni memang ala2 demonstrasi Bersih 2.0.
ReplyDeleteKalau berada di landasan betul memang tiada salah.Namun jika dipolitikkan oleh individu tertentu, itu memang satu masalah.
DeleteKerajaan pasti akan menubuhkan Tribunal Tanah Adat bagi memastikan pertikaian mengenai isu tanah adat dapat diselesaikan.
ReplyDeleteSehingga kini masih tiada perkembangan lagi.
DeleteI wish the Tribunal gonna setup soon.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan negeri harus berjuang untuk mempertahankan hak milik penduduk. Demontrasi sebegini mengingati kerajaan bahawa harta milik penduduk terancam.
ReplyDeleteperhimpunan ini berlangsung secara aman, nasib baik tak berlaku apa2 kejadian tak dingini. tapi sebaiknyua elakkan terlibat dalam sebarang perhimpunan.
ReplyDeletePerhimpunan sebegini ada makna dan boleh menyelesaikan masalah ke?
ReplyDeleteTanah harus dikembali kepada rakyat dan berhak memilikinya.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan harus mengambil langkah wajar supaya rakuyat tidak ditindas kuasa kuat dan rampas tanah.
ReplyDeleteada artikel mengatakan ratusan yang sertai, tapi artikel ini mengatakan ribuan pula, mana satu yang betul ni?
ReplyDeleteI don't think it exceed 1 thousand over people to come for this.Maybe some of them are illegals?We never know.
Deletetapi jika dilihat dari gambar di atas, tak menunjukkan ia ribuan orang. tak ramai pun yang sertai.
ReplyDeleteWow, another rally to go.
ReplyDeleteJika dilihat pun mengenai demo ini nampaknya tidak menarik ramai sokongan. Hanya yang ramai mungkin adalah ahli dari parti pembangkang/.
ReplyDeletePerhimpunan yang berlangsung cuma menyusahkan orang lain. Bayangkan saja kesesakkan lalu lintas dari Masjid bandaraya hingga bulatan Yayasan Sabah. Bukankah menyusahkan orang.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is why it hurts. Hurting all of us here.
DeleteDemo ini bukan bertujuan untuk mengacaubilaukan keadaan.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope there is another mechanism to cure this problem from happened again.
ReplyDeletethe Government is going all out to resolve issues such as illegal immigrants, NCR land, poverty and balanced development
ReplyDeleteWell, I never doubt that.Since the main culprit behind this rally has been banned from entering Sabah.
Deletethe rampant land grabs in Sabah are making folk in rural areas restive with a visible indications of impending violent clashes which could ignite a possibility of bloodshed between the “new” owners and natives.
ReplyDeleteSudah tentu, kita tidak mahu perkara sedemikian berlaku di Sabah melainkan jika permintaan rakyat langsung diabaikan oleh kerajaan..
ReplyDeletewe urge the chief minister to use his good office to intervene immediately before serious and bloody clashes erupt between the natives and the 'intruder'
ReplyDeleteThese land grabs must stop...
ReplyDeletetetapi tanpa campur tangan kerajaan, perkara ini sudah tentu tidak akan berakhir dengan aman..
ReplyDeletesemoga, ada penjelasan dari pihak berkuasa yang terlibat
ReplyDeletepihak kerajaan seharusnya memperjuangkan matlamat mereka dalam menyelesaikan masalah penyelewengan tanah yang kian berleluasa di Sabah, supaya penduduk terlibat tidak terasa tertipu
ReplyDeleteharap tidak ada penyelewengan kuasa berlaku...jika ada, siasatan perlu dilakukan..
ReplyDeletedan harap ada pihak kerajaan berani tampil ke depan untuk memberi penjelasan kepada rakyat Sabah
ReplyDeleteI personally not sure what this is all about.
Deletesetakat ini, pihak kerajaan Sabah hanya berdiam diri tanpa memberi kenyataan mereka yang sahih mengenai isu NCR ini
ReplyDeleteSomething must be done to protect the native people as well as their land ownership rights
ReplyDeleteThe native land has to be protected and all rules and regulations policies must be observed.
ReplyDeleteThe state government is well informed about this.
DeleteThe Government should be considerate and look into the affairs of the people regarding this issue.
ReplyDeleteThe people’s land must be protected by law at all cost.
ReplyDeleteberi hukuman yang teruk bagi mereka yang enggan mematuhi undang-undang.
ReplyDeleteI wonder with PAS especially Mazlan.. why did he don't come when there are a lot of problems that need to be solved here before?? why did he come when he know there are a rally to be launched here?? I assume that he and all PAS leaders are not interested to solve our problem, but they are only interested to using our problem for they political interest..
ReplyDeletewhen you ask PAS to solve the economic problem, they will launch rally.. when you ask PAS to solve administration problem, they will launch rally.. when you ask PAS to solve land problem, they will launch rally again.. in PAS the people will learn everything about rally..
ReplyDeleteif PAS really fight for the Sabahan rights, why they don't bring the Sabahan problem to the court?? I thought they have capable lawyer among PR leaders, so why not ask them to help this folks??
ReplyDelete