Opposition parties had no genuine interest to fight for the betterment of bumiputera land owners in Sarawak, Chief Minister Taib Mahmud said in Bintulu today.

He said the opposition merely tried to confuse the land owners by instigating them to believe the government wanted to seize their land.

bn supreme council mt meeting sapp sabah issue 190608 taib mahmud Opening the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) eighth annual general assembly here, he said the state BN had always recognised the rights of bumiputera landowners.

Taib ( right ) cited a case in the 1980s where the government had to revise its decision over a piece of land which was eventually found to be native land belonging to residents of Rumah Panjang Chang, a longhouse located in the Niah sub-district near Miri.

He said although the land was earlier given to a developer for plantation purposes, he had directed the land to be returned to the longhouse residents after he found a document which proved the residents' rights over the property.

Taib said, in addition, the government needed to compensate the developer of the land over losses suffered, following his directive.

"Although the (state) government lost in this sense, I believe what is right is right," he said, adding that the state government had also respected decisions made by the court of law, with regard to ownership of native lands.

Earlier, SPDP president William Mawan Ikom said the party would counter whatever opposition propaganda on issues by equipping its members with sufficient information for public dissemination.

- Bernama