“Someone in higher authority” has requested 495 families to drop their lawsuit against the state government and a company linked to Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s family for encroaching into their native customary rights (NCR) lands, revealed lawyer See Chee How.

The native families are from Kampung Kangka, Kampung Sempadi, Kampung Sungai China, Kampung Stoh and Kampung Ulu Riam, who are claiming native customary rights over 2,135ha land in Sempadi in Lundu district.

Their lands were issued with provisional lease by the Kuching Lands and Surveys to Polar Horizon Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary company of Titanium Management Sdn Bhd whose majority shareholder is Taib’s eldest son Abu Bekir Mahmud.

The natives, meanwhile, have already entered into a joint venture with Rona Hijau Sdn Bhd, a Sibu-based plantation company, to develop their NCR lands.

Armed with the lease, Polar Horizon issued an eviction notice to the families and Rona Hijau, but they refused to budge.

The company subsequently sued the natives and Rona Hijau.

The lands are known as Lot 176 Block 5, Lot 177 Block 5 and Lot 478 Block 6 of the Sempadi land district, all leased to Polar Horizon on Feb 3, 2010.

Two weeks ago, the natives filed their defence and counterclaims, through See who is attached with Baru Bian & Co Advocates.

Call from pol sec of PBB leader

On Thursday, the villagers were to file a writ to sue the Lands and Surveys and Polar Horizon, but they did not proceed after receiving a call from a “political secretary to Tan Sri Adenan Satem (PBB information chief)”.

“This secretary promised that the provisional lease issued to Polar Horizon would be cancelled,” See told reporters yesterday.

He said the caller conveyed a promise that the lands would be returned to the natives.

“The villagers then gave the caller 24 hours to get the letter from the Lands and Surveys, acknowledging that their NCR lands would be returned to them.

“The caller said that ‘this YB and that YB are meeting in Bintulu’, and that they (natives) would probably get their letter next week.”

See said the villagers are giving the caller until next week to hand the letter over to them, failing which they would go ahead with the filing of the writs.

“They want the caller to come up with something in black and white so they will not file the writs,” he said.

See nevertheless described the promise to cancel the provisional lease given to Polar Horizon aas a pre-election gimmick.

He expressed his doubts whether the promise would be kept after the state election, which is widely expected next month.

No guarantee BN will live up to promise

Meanwhile, Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian, who was present at the press conference, issued a warning to NCR landowners to be cautious of what the BN government was promising.

“This government would issue promise after promise to withdraw the provisional lease, just like in Sempadi or the promise to lift the imposition of Section 47 of the Sarawak Land Code for land in Bako.

“The landowners should not be overtly happy with this kind of statement or promise. If yesterday, they (government) could issue the lease or impose the land code without the landowners’ consent, today, they could say they would withdraw it.

“This is not the kind of policy that we want to see or have,” Baru said.

He said there was no guarantee that the BN government would not issue more provisional leases or impose the land code provisions if it won again in the coming state elections.

Baru added that all the process before the  issuance of the provisional leases or the imposition of the land code based on the consent, consultation and agreement of the people was never conducted.

“I am the lawyer representing so many landowners, and when the witnesses were asked whether they have given their consent or being consulted, they said they never had.

“They only knew that their lands have been leased out years later, after seeing bulldozers from plantation companies started coming in.

“Even the officers from the Lands and Surveys admitted that the process of consent and consultation was not conducted before the provisional leases were issued or the imposition of land code was enforced,” he said.

He said Pakatan Rakyat government would never treat landowners unfairly.

“We will implement a policy of people-informed concept, consultations with the local people and find out whether they want to surrender their rights to plantation companies or government.

“We will hear their views, until and unless the people are happy with the development, happy with the extinguishment of their rights over the land, only then we will issue the provisional lease,” he said.