A Sarawak plantation giant has failed in its legal action to evict the Iban natives of Rumah Pee Millo, Miri, from the land they have lived in for more than 30 years.

The High Court in Miri on Jan 28 ruled that Butrasemari Sdn Bhd, an oil palm company owned by Ta Ann, which is one of the top five largest timber and plantation companies in Sarawak, does not have exclusive rights to the land known as Lot 97 Sawai Land District, located in Suai, Miri Division.

Judge Zulkifli Bakar is of the view that Butrasemari cannot claim exclusive rights to the land just by virtue of having a provisional lease (PL), issued by the state government, because it is subject to  Section 28 of the Sarawak Land Code, under which a survey has to be completed before the state government can alienate land.

However the court also ruled that the Iban natives cannot claim the land as their native customary rights (NCR) land because they had only settled there in the 1970s.

The Sarawak government has yet to decide on the status of the Iban natives in occupying the land, even though they were encouraged by the government to move there from Sarikei in 1970s.

The court decision therefore maintains the status quo of the land, but final decision on its use still lies with the state government.

'State government has failed in its fiduciary duty'

The land dispute erupted in 2005 when Butrasemari was issued with a PL for the land.

In 2008, the residents of Rumah Pee Millo staged a sit in at the Miri Resident's office after they were ordered by the court to vacate the land.

They were then told that they can remain in the land until a decision was made by higher authorities in Kuching, which they are still waiting now.

"Our state government has failed in its fiduciary duty to safeguard the interests of its own people," counsel for the Rumah Pee Millo residents, Harrison Ngau Laing, said.

Harrison claimed that Ta Ann's executive chairman is Abdul Hamed Sepawi, a billionaire who is also a cousin of Sawarak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and the treasurer of the ruling party, PBB.

"Why can't Ta Ann, which already owns thousands of hectares of land throughout Sarawak, spare some land for the poor natives to eke a living?" he asked.

"The state government has got its priorities wrong by enriching the rich and making the poor even poorer."

The Tuai Rumah (village chief) of the settlement, Pee Millio, also complained that the government was not practising what it preached.

"Our prime minister is always trumpeting the 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now slogan, but this is not the case for us," he said.

"Our people are not first but placed last in the government's priorities," said Pee Millo, who is also being sued by Butrasemari for trespassing into the disputed land.