DESPITE widespread protests from Dayak civil groups and landowners, Pakatan Harapan leaders say the bill to amend the Sarawak Land Code will be bulldozed through by the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak government when it tables in the state legislative assembly tomorrow.

“It’ll be stupid of the GPS backbenchers to go against the bill, unless they have a prick of conscience tonight,” Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian said.

The amendment seeks to recognise the “pemakai menoa” and “pulau galau” (territorial domain) concepts of native land acquisition.

Baru gave three reasons why the 10 PH assemblymen would vote against the bill in the 81-seat assembly.

One of the state’s leading NCR land rights lawyers, he said the proposal was “very disappointing” as it failed to recognise and affirm the fundamental characteristics of the pemakai menoa and pulau galau concepts.

These concepts, he said, were “affirmed by the landmark cases from other jurisdictions and from our jurisdiction, which hold that the aboriginal people’s rights include an interest in the land, and not merely an usufructuary right”.

Section 6A(1) of the bill provides for the recognition of usufructuary rights only, which is defined as “rights or privileges exercised or enjoyed by a native community over a native community, over a native territorial domain, to forage for food including fishing and hunting”.

Baru said PH was also against limiting the extent of an area allowed to be given to the native community under this concept to 500ha only.

“It’s our stand that our NCR land, or PM & PG, cannot be restricted or limited to an area defined by the authority.

“The extent of the territorial domain should be in accordance with the area that the natives had continuously occupied since the time of their forefathers to this day,” Baru said.

He said PH NCR land right lawyers had won cases where the territorial domain extends beyond 10,000ha.

“Limiting the size of PM & PG in this manner is unjust, unfair, and morally wrong,” Baru said.

The third reason he gave for PH voting against the bill was that the bill provided for application for the recognition of territorial domains to be made through the superintendent of Land and Surveys and to be approved by the director.

Baru said the determination of the customs, or adat, of the native peoples of Sarawak cannot be made subject to non-native or a person “who does not have the knowledge of the natives’ adat or custom”.

He said the government should have considered setting an Indigenous Land Commission consisting of those expert in the native customs and adat to deal with this issue.

“It’s the proper thing to do.”

He said despite proposing perpetuity on the title over the territorial domain, it still could not justify the “absurdity of the main aspects of the amendments”.

Baru clarified PH’s stand a day before the bill was tabled because he and Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen could not attend the assembly, as they would have to be in Putrajaya for the federal cabinet meeting.

The bill was originally slated to be tabled today. Chong said the switch to tomorrow “looked like something fishy”. – July 10, 2018.