Sarawak PKR: Suspend oil palm companies hiring thugs

Sarawak PKR today called on Sarawak to suspend or review provisional leases (PLs) that have been issued over the purported native customary right (NCR) land in the Danau-Melikin region, Balai Ringin in the Serian district.

This follows the discovery of lethal and dangerous weapons in the oil palm plantations, which locals fear may be used against them in the event of conflict over land rights.

The police last week uncovered a stash of weapons including a Cannon 737 calibre 77 air rifle, a homemade shot gun, two kwan dao (Chinese pole weapons), eight boxes of air rifle ammunition, a 12-gauge shotgun shell, a flare and several drug paraphernalia, a 27 Kal 7.65mm pistol loaded with three bullets, a box containing 20 mirage shotgun shells, a tin containing six 7.65mm bullets and two .38mm bullets, and another tin containing 10.22 bullets and two 9mm bullets.

The discovery was announced by state head of CID Zulkifli Hassan at a media conference in Kuching yesterday. 

The native landowners claimed that a number of PBB leaders and state ministers were allegedly linked to the three companies in the region that had been given PLs to plant oil palm in more than 10,000 hectares, part of which the natives claim is part of their NCR land.

Praising the police for the swift action, State PKR vice chairperson See Chee How said, "With the discovery of several 'samurai' which were kept with guns and ammunition, I urge the police to examine these samurai and investigate a possible link of these dangerous weapons with the unsolved cases of brutal assault of an elderly farmer Surik Anak Muntai in March this year.

"Surik, a NCR landowner who resisted the encroachment of the plantation companies onto his ancestral land, was brutally attacked outside a school in Balai Ringin when he was waiting to pick his son from school.

"Incidentally, the lethal and dangerous weapons were found in the workers' quarters of one of the two plantation companies that are operating in the vicinity of Surik's village in Melikin," See who is the Batu Lintang assemblyperson told Malaysiakini.

Surik's case was not an isolated one as there were scores of native landowners in Serian, Sarikei, Sibu, Selangau, Bintulu, Niah and Miri who are defending their NCR land have been brutally attacked by gangsters allegedly employed by oil palm companies.

One case in Niah resulted in fatalities.

See said, "We have on numerous occasions appealed to the police to look into the matter of plantation companies employing questionable and objectionable personalities as 'security' personnel in their plantations.

"With the discovery of the lethal and dangerous weapons, we sincerely hope that the police will now take immediate measures to register all the workers of plantation companies, keep away those (questionable) individuals to ensure peace and order of the district.

"In fact, with such risks and threats on the security and public order of the district, the state government should suspend or review the provisional leases (PLs) that were issued over the purported NCR land in the Danau-Melikin region, pending the disposal of the civil cases that were brought by the Iban NCR landowners for declaration of their ancestral rights over the land," said See, who is a lawyer defending the NCR landowners.