Native Court probes illegals with blue IC, NCR

Native land transfer bogged down over several issues including a complaint lodged at the High Court.

KOTA KINABALU: A three-judge panel of the Native Court has set April 22 this year for the hearing of a case centered around an Indonesian illegal immigrant, a maid, who is not only holding a blue Identity Card but has a quarter share in a piece of native land (NCR) in Kampung Limbanak, Penampang, Kota Kinabalu, with three other owners, all native brothers.

There are several issues before the Court viz. how an Indonesian bought native land which was transferred to her in 1990 by the Penampang Lands Office, the issuance of a blue IC to her, and the disputed native status of a Sino-Kadazan teacher who reportedly bought the land from the maid who has since gone missing.

The teacher agreed that the transfer of sale could not be recorded by the Penampang Lands Office who had earlier, however, recorded the RM23,000 purchase from a fourth brother by the maid. “One of the three brothers refused to surrender the original title to the Penampang Lands Office for the transfer of my share of the land to me,” she told the Court.

The three other owners have also objected to the land transfer on the grounds that the teacher’s native status was “suspect”. Also, they did not know that an elder brother had sold his quarter share to Darmi Lambirtus, the Indonesian maid.

The panel of judges led by District Chief Bryan Matasing, Native Chief Andrew S. Liduan and Village Chief Michael Bejuet want the maid found by April 22 and issued a subpoena. The teacher, whose name was not released, was asked by the Court to try and help locate Lambirtus. “I will try. I haven’t seen her for a long time,” the teacher told the Court. “The brothers did not do anything about the land since 1990 and now I am the victim.”

She claims that she has a letter dated 10 May 1974 from the Native Court in Penampang confirming her native status.

The Court also has a letter from the National Registration Department (NRD) in Kota Kinabalu confirming that Lambirtus held a blue IC, not MyKad, beginning with the letter H (for Sabah) and stating her race as Indonesian.

The teacher was summoned by the Native Court after she hauled one of the other three owners of the land to the civil court for failure to transfer her share to her. The details on the civil case will be heard by the Native Court on April 22.

The facts of the case presented to the Court show that the teacher’s mother owns the land next to the land in dispute and she bought the latter piece for “sentimental reasons”. “We used to plant vegetables and rice there with the permission of the late father of the four brothers,” she told the Court.

It could not be immediately confirmed whether the land dispute had been heard at the Lands Office, the first stop. The High Court acts as the court of appeal for both the Lands Office and the Native Court. Land cases go from the Land Office to the High Court and not to the Native Court.