A Malaysian court has ruled in favor of indigenous communities in a dispute over land rights just two days after authorities “arbitrarily” destroyed 25 Iban homes in the village of Sungai Sekabai in Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo), reports the Bruno Manser Fund, a rights group. The cases (Agi Ak Bungkong & Ors versus Ladang Sawit Bintulu S/B & Others and Mohd Rambli Kawi versus Lands & Surveys Kuching & Another) had been filed by Iban and Malay communities against the Sarawak state government and an oil palm company that planned to establish an oil palm plantation on native lands.
Sarawak High Court Judge Datuk David Wond ruled that local communities have native customary rights over land claimed as state land by the Sarawak state government. In the ruling, the court said “customary practice of Malays must be given the force of law.” The Bruno Manser Fund called it a “landmark decision.”
See Chee How, a lawyer representing the Iban, called the decisions “a great victory for the people” and said it was “a historic day for Sarawak’s native landowners.”
 Community members outside the courthouse after the decisions. |
But while the rulings set a precedent that could strength native claims to customary lands in Sarawak, the Bruno Manser Fund questioned whether the Sarawak State government will respect the court decisions. The group noted that Iban in Sungai Sekabai won a similar decision in 2001, but have since be embroiled in a dispute over the land with land developers and the Sarawak state government. On Tuesday state police and military demolished more than two dozen indigenous homes in the village, escalating the dispute.
The Sarawak state government has a history of favoring development interests over indigenous customary rights. The government has played a key role in facilitating large-scale destruction of Sarawak’s biologically-rich rainforests, granting concessions to logging companies and oil palm plantation developers. Now the government is pushing a scheme that would create an industrial corridor for mining and energy development. The suite of projects includes at least four hydroelectric dams (up to 28,000MW of power), aluminum-smelting and steel plants, coal mines (1.46 billion metric tons), and natural gas development (nearly 41 billion cubic feet), according the state government.
Environmentalists say the projects will displace indigenous groups and destroy important ecosystems, endangered biodiversity and contributing to Malaysia’s surging greenhouse gas emissions.
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