Sabah land department evicts squatters occupying titled land

Likas assemblyman Tan Lee Fatt (fourth left) together with enforcers at the site.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Land and Survey Department took swift action today against a group said to be clearing land illegally in Likas near here.

In a short message to FMT, Land and Survey Department director Safar Untong said the heavy machinery used to clear the land had also been removed.

“It was an encroachment on titled land,” he added.

Earlier today, Likas assemblyman Tan Lee Fatt went to monitor the eviction process by the department and City Hall. However, he said the area actually falls under the Karambunai and Sepanggar constituencies despite its location in Likas.

Karanaan assemblyman and former minister Masidi Manjun said in a tweet that the land belongs to MLGH, a company owned by the housing and local government ministry.

The occupiers had set up a structure and hung Warisan banners at the site.

Under state law, anyone found unlawfully entering and occupying state or titled land, including those who abet the act, can be fined up to RM100,000 or jailed for up to five years.

According to a video that has gone viral on WhatsApp, a man had approached the site claiming to have permission from the head of state to occupy the land.

However, he could not produce the approval letter, saying he had left it at home.

Only the state Land and Survey Department can issue land approvals and titles. Although leaders, including the head of state, have routinely supported land applications, the support letters do not guarantee success for the applications.

The land application in this case was filed by two individuals on behalf of 674 others for a piece of land in Likas.

The applicants also proposed that the “village” be named Kampung Kurol Melangi.

Sabahans, especially the indigenous peoples, are becoming increasingly anxious over land issues as more and more letters supporting applications to open land have gone viral since last year. They fear this could threaten their native customary rights land. - FMT