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The Sarawak state government said today it will appeal against last week's Kuching High Court decision affirming that four Ibans in Bintulu are entitled to exercise native customary rights (NCR) to their land.

Borneo Plantations Sdn Bhd, which has been issued a provisional title over the disputed land is also appealing.

The reaction to the landmark High Court decision has been euphoric within Sarawak's Dayak longhouse community and is likely to become a major election issue in the coming state elections.

Keadilan Sarawak, which is going to contest a large number of Dayak seats in Sarawak, has asked the state government not to proceed with the appeal.

Speaking on behalf of the government and company, in which the state holds a large equity, Assistant Industrial Development Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said the opposition party's request "is tantamount to politicising what is essentially a legal matter".

"Keadilan itself considers the ruling (by High Court judge Ian Chin last Saturday) as an 'important landmark decision'. It is the duty of the government and the company to put the correctness of this decision to test before a higher court," said Awang Tengah, adding that it was the constitutional right of the government and company to appeal.

Awang Tengah, who is also Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu deputy youth head, said an appeal was necessary for a higher ruling and judgment on the definition of NCR and recognition thereof accorded by Section 6 of the Land Settlement Ordinance 1933.

Appeal necessary

"Furthermore, the appeal is necessary so that the law on this subject can be firmly and finally established in a court of law and not subject to political arguments and debate," he said.

According to the assistant minister, the Iban plaintiffs led by Tuai Rumah Nor anak Nyawai are descendants of those who originally moved from Kanowit in central Sarawak to Ulu Tatau in Bintulu in northern Sarawak, and their present longhouse built in 1955 is sitting on a site about eight kilometres from the disputed areas.

"Also the area is outside the land covered by the provisional lease issued to the company," he claimed.

Keadilan Sarawak deputy chairman Cheng Hui Hong, in urging the government against appealing, said that his party regards the decision by the Kuching High Court on May 12 "as a cornerstone in the legal history of Sarawak whereby the court has declared legitimacy of the indigenous communities' native customary rights".

Give priority

Meanwhile, speaking at the Sarawak state assembly sitting today, DAP's sole representative Richard Wong Ho Leng advised the government to give priority to surveying those lands where provisional leases have been issued to plantation companies in order to prevent conflicts.

"The practice of issuing provisional leases and thereby leaving the leaseholders to handle the problem on the ground with the natives should be discouraged and stopped at once.

"I suggest the government give priority to surveying such lands so as to give peace of mind to both the plantation companies and their workers and the natives on those lands. Otherwise, any dispute, no matter how small, will be a clog on development on those lands and will tarnish the image of Sarawak."

According to Wong, some of the plantation companies have been brought to court by the affected natives to determine their NCR land legal status.

"There is a lesson to be learnt from the decision of the Kuching High Court. We should have a better planning system to avoid such confrontations," he said.

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