Zahid Hamidi’s ‘no-show’ in Sabah

Rumours of a protest over land rights involving a military facility is said to be the reason for Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's non-appearance in Sabah.

KOTA BELUD: Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s scheduled visit to a military training camp in Kota Belud recently was called off following rumours that a protest was being planned by locals over their lost native customary rights.

FMT learned that the local Dusun Tindal community affected by Kem Paradise had been quietly planning to stage a peaceful protest with the support of some activists including from opposition parties PKR and PAS.

According to local community leaders, it would have been an embarrassing encounter for the minister and the hosts had the visit been allowed to go on schedule.

A local leader who asked not to be named told FMT that the district office had already sent out invitations to all village headmen and Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK) chairmen from the surrounding areas to receive Zahid, but at the last minute they were informed that the visit had been postponed.

Zahid’s visit was to coincide with a briefing on purported plans to scale down the huge army training camp to soothe unease among the local Dusun natives ahead of the 13th general election expected to be called soon.

Local leaders here were excited by the minister’s planned visit as hopes were high that areas in the camp’s periphery would be excised and later given back to the surrounding Dusun Tindal villages which needed more land for settlement and agriculture.

Zahid was also supposed to have closed-door talks with a few community leaders and authorities including with district officer Gari Itam.

Kem Paradise may well be the only army training ground in the world with densely populated villages practically trapped inside it. It shares common camp training turf, where live ordinance can still be found, with school children and old folks.

Since the 1980s, scores fatal accidents involving Dusun villagers in the army training areas have been recorded.

Most of the fatal accidents involved natives being blown up by mortar bombs they had collected for sale as scrap metal.

Close down camp

Among the kampungs in or overlapping the camp are: Tengkurus, Bangkahak, Tambulion, Losou Podi, Losou Minunsud, Rosok, and Sorob.

A community leader from Tempasuk here, James Bagah, who is also president of the Sabah Dusun Tindal Organisation (USTO) had earlier called on the government to consider closing down and shifting the army training area to a more strategic areas, perhaps in the east-coast of Sabah.

Bagah, who is also president of Consumer Association of Sabah (CAPS) said more and more Kota Belud Tindal natives especially those directly affected by the carving out of the close to 10,000 acres of army training area during Berjaya government, are in need of lands now as their families have expanded.

“The federal and state governments should consider closing down Kem Paradise and relocate it perhaps to Sandakan or east coast of Sabah like Semporna and Tawau where such a military set up would be needed more,” he told FMT.

Another community leader from Kota Belud, lawyer Peter Marajin, supported Bagah’s opinion, adding the huge military area should be shifted to a less populated area to avoid more casualties.

“Kota Belud is a peaceful district and it is saddening to note that every now and then we hear reports of incidents involving the local Dusun Tindal community.

“Instead of being protected by such facilities, our people get killed and properties are disturbed due to negligence and also simply because the army training is within the vicinity of these kampongs which have been there since time immemorial.

“Bombs land on graves, livestock are injured or killed, paddy fields are affected and fences are damaged. In extreme cases, natives got killed by mortar bombs they mistakenly believe are used bomb shells and therefore good for scrap metals business,” he said.

Not suitable

Similar calls for the relocation of the camp have been made before.

One was made by the Federal Rural and Regional Development Deputy Minister, Hasan Malek, who visited the area and in particular Kampung Losou Podi, a few months ago.

He had reportedly said that the army training in Kem Paradise was no longer appropriate as it was surrounded by kampungs.

Hasan proposed that the camp instead be turned into villages and for agricultural use.

“These areas are rich in natural beauty and therefore could be turned as tourism attraction,” he said after inspecting the upgrading of a kampung road to Losou Podi.

The 15km asphalted road, which cost the ministry RM25.5 million, was completed last year. It cuts across Kem Paradise and is shared by both civilian vehicles and heavy military vehicles.