KOTA KINABALU, March 22 ― Orang Asal settlers of a village in the interior district of Tongod that was torn down by the Sabah Forestry Department last week insisted today they have been around ever since the area was gazetted as a forest reserve.
Despite that, the Forestry Department claimed the demolition that has since been labelled “inhumane and brutal” was a drastic last resort measure to get rid of what it labelled as “illegal settlers” encroaching on that reserve.
Its director Datuk Sam Mannan said the department had the right to take action, claiming Kampung Bobotong ― the scene of the demolition that left 60 people homeless ― is part of the large Sungai Pinangah Forest Reserve that was gazetted in 1965.
“The Forest Department had exhausted all means to bring the encroachments under control, it was decided that drastic actions must now be taken,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
The demolition on Thursday, carried out by a team of about 140 personnel from the forestry department and the police, has come under heavy criticism from non-governmental organisation Jaringan Orang Asal Se-Malaysia (JOAS) who described the action as “inhumane and brutal” for leaving the community homeless.
It was reported that the demolition process has been halted, and the villagers were given until March 30 to move out from the area before they proceed with the full demolition.
The issue first came to light when local media reported that the department’s personnel had used chainsaws to tear down the houses of the natives who claimed to have been residing on the land for many years, even before it was gazetted as a forest reserve.
Villagers refuse to compromise
Mannan said that the demolition only affected uninhabited huts, also called sulaps, and personnel did not burn down any structures.
“Illegal settlers still in their dwellings were advised to apply for an occupation permit, or we will enforce the law. Buildings with people inside were left alone,” he said, adding that the department negotiations with villagers had been unsuccesful.
“In 2004 or earlier, an attempt was made by the department to make compromises with the settlers by offering occupation permits to regularise the illegal usage of forest reserve land and to ensure no further expansion and planting of approved crops only. Various dialogues were conducted but to no avail.”
Mannan said that some villagers had agreed to negotiations, and late or staggered payments of RM250 per hectare per year of occupation permits (OP) were also accepted as part of the compromise.
“However, the majority refused the occupation permit system and insisted on excision for various reasons ― native customary rights, burial grounds, landed there earlier, mostly on false premises, false pretenses and lies.
“To make matters worse, forest encroachments expanded and more settlers ― usually absentee landlords with land holdings elsewhere ― came,” he said.
Mannan said that the general feeling on the ground is that the majority will follow the department’s directive, but further instigation by those “with motives only known to themselves”, may change their minds through threats, fear and intimidation.
Villagers fight back: ‘We were here first’
Despite that, village spokesman Jimmy Iban said all the villagers, who originated from Kiulu, Tuaran, had insisted that when the first settlers arrived in the area in 1979, it had yet to be gazetted as a forest reserve, as alleged by Mannan.
“The Dusun community have been living in the area well before the area was gazetted as a forest reserve and they have planted fruit trees and palm oil to earn a living,” said JOAS Sabah chapter vice-president Juhaidi Marindal.
Local news portal Borneo Today reported Iban, who is also the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) head, saying active logging was still going on at that time, by a company called Comm Borneo Sdn Bhd and the first group of 10 families obtained the permission from Lambah, then ketua kampung, or village chief of nearby Kampung Entilibon.
“There were no signs to indicate that the said land was a forest reserve nor was it a protected area, and as such, the first settlers went on to farm the land,” said Iban, who claimed his father was part of that first group.
“At that point, none of the local authorities concerned, including the Sabah Forestry Department, objected to their presence or came to tell them that they were on restricted property.” said Iban, adding that the adat, or customary rights process was strictly adhered to, and there was also a handover ceremony of the land.
He said that the government had given recognition to the settlement in the mid 1980s and agreed to set up a JKKK so that it could be better developed and administered.
“The first five JKKK chairmen from 1983 to 2016 had all received official letters of appointment from the relevant government body,” he said, adding that the settlement now has 80 families.
Iban also claimed that officials from the Forestry Department came in 1986 and discussed a “boundary”, which the settlers agreed to adhere to. The size of the settlement was about 874 hectares, and the people agreed not to go beyond that.
The current crops consist of 85 per cent rubber and the remainder was oil palm, fruits and paddy. The average earnings of the villagers was between RM450 and RM1000 per month.
He said they were informed they were living on forest reserve only two years after it was gazetted in 1984, contrary to Mannan’s earlier statement that it was gazetted in 1965. He also said logging in the area went on unti the early 1980s.
“We were stunned. As it is the custom of the land, we were not only not consulted but we were then offered occupation permits for which we had to pay a fee.
“But the OPs were for a period of 25 years and there was no guarantee we would not be kicked out after that.” he said, adding that they had written to the relevant authorities pleading to be given the land grants for the said land but to no avail.
He said the existence of a private oil palm estate in the same area was highly suspect as problems arose in the 2000s, when the company, Mas Jaya Sdn Bhd destroyed part of the settlement claiming it as their own and had to pay a sogit, or compensation, to the affected settlers.
Forestry officials also continued to harass the settlers by warning them not to plant oil palm, and he claimed their small oil palm trees were mysteriously poisoned. They were finally issued notices for illegally squatting on forest reserve.
They then appealed to the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) which requested for details on the matterfrom the District Forestry officer, and received verbal assurance that no demolition would take place until the matter was looked into.
He said villagers had cried and pleaded with the authorities last week not to tear down their homes pending the outcome of their objection to an eviction notice last October. He also said that the homes torn down during the demolition were not “uninhabited” but their owners were our on the farmland or in Telupid.
Clash imminent amid squatters claim
Mannan said many non-natives from other areas of Sabah had come to Tongod in the early 90s to acquire lands, and upon arrival had started to fell trees and burn forests to make space for rubber plantations ― they estimated some 1,000 hectares of land was cleared for this purpose.
Despite being told to leave, the settlers took no notice and as a result, a RM2 million allocation to build a Tongod Forestry Office in the 1990s was halted.
“The project could not start as the site had been taken over or grabbed by the illegal settlers and became the promise land. This forced the department to look for an alternative site on stateland ― a bizarre situation ― illegal squatters were empowered to evict the government from its own land,” he said.
“They are not Tongod people but aggressive land encroachers who have spread all over Sabah from Mandalom and Sook in Keningau, Kimanis Highway and Andrassy in Tawau, Silam in Lahad Datu and Lipaso/Tawai in Telupid.
“The illegal settlers included retired and serving government servants – people with means,” he said, adding no native to Tongod was part of the “illegal settlers” and pointed out that one of the houses appeared more than an average kampung house.
Iban disputed this, saying that while few settlers have made it big and no longer live in the village as they work elsewhere, they would still return there time and again.
He said the massive house was built by one of the settler’s sons, who became a successful professional and is currently working overseas.
“Its his right to build for his parents a house of his choice,” he said.
Meanwhile, Suhakam spokesman Heflin Dino said it will conduct a field investigation on the matter, and urged all parties to remain calm while they look into the matter.
But the settlers are restless and worried as they have been told that the demolition team would come again on March 30, and unless they agreed to certain conditions, the remaining houses would be torn down and their farmland destroyed.
“Most of us are poor people and this is our only land, and we have worked and lived off it all our lives,” he said, maintaining that it came under their native customary rights.
Sabah has been known to have the highest number of land issue complaints in the country and a low rate of resolution.
Among the many land issues, mostly faced by rural villagers were conflict of interest involving construction of public or private developments, opening up of plantations and the plight of displaced local people, many of whom were found to have been occupying forest reserves for many years.
