PAS raises concerns over Sabah land grabs

The bulk of state lands in Sabah seem to have been given to agencies and companies from West Malaysia and only 3-6% are controlled by Sabah people, claims PAS.

TAWAU: One of the surest routes to wealth in Sabah is land expropriation and it’s worrying PAS.

The party wants to know why the state Barisan Nasional government is sitting idly as more and more small farmers in the state are beginning to find themselves landless.

PAS land development bureau chief Mazlan Aliman said the issue, if not addressed, would be brought up to the courts and international attention.

Mazlan, who is on a working visit here, said his team is gathering information from those affected in Sabah and the cases will be compiled and studied by lawyers and submitted to the court by the end of this year.

“Our bureau has been established to handle issues involving land matters whether under land agencies such as Felda, Felcra and also customary land rights,” he said here.

Mazlan, who visited Pulau Gaya, Keningau, Sook, Nabawan and Kalabakan to get a better understanding of problems faced by the communities living there, said he was shocked by the poor infrastructure in these areas.

“Sabah is lagging behind when compared to West Malaysia. Imagine, about 50km of the road to Tawau from Keningau is not properly surfaced.

“This is unacceptable considering the amount allocated by the federal government to build the road.

“The Keningau-Tawau road is a main road, not an interior road. This is an example of discrimination by the central government towards Sabah,” he said.

He also said he had seen documents which showed that vast areas of logged-over lands along the Keningau-Tawau road were owned by business interests tied to political parties.

Self-developed lands seized

He said the bulk of state lands in Sabah seem to have been given to agencies and companies from West Malaysia and only 3-6% are controlled by Sabah people.

“We agree the influx of investors is a need, but not until the level reaches a stage where the people’s lands are seized.

“For example in Ulu Merotai where 500 families who were given lands during Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) rule had their lands that was already producing oil palm seized.

“The people had used their own money to develop the land and followed the proper process. This is is an injustice and is one of the issues our bureau will investigate,” he claimed.

Mazlan also said he could not understand why Pulau Gaya which is about 15 minutes boat ride from the state capital could not be developed and the people forced to live in poverty.

“We are celebrating Malaysia Day, but it is sad to see not much change has taken place in many areas in Sabah.

“We want to gather again all the facts on land problems faced by locals and take it up at national level. If no one listens, we will bring it up to international level,” he said.