Release Date: 4 October 2008

The Land and Survey Department had never issued any eviction order to the 10,000 people from the Kedayan-Malay villages in Bekenu, Miri as reported in a national daily on Sept 27.

Subsequent headlines that appeared in various local dailies quoting the eviction of 10,000 people is inaccurate and misleading. I therefore wish to clarify the facts with regard to the subject land i.e. Lot 3935 Lambir Land District and Lot 4448 Sibuti Land District.

Based on the copies of letters that were copied to the Department, they were letters issued by the advocates of the company to eight individuals to warn them on illegal trespassing of the company’s land. The letters are not eviction orders by the Land and Survey Department as alleged.

Seven of the letters were dated 9 September 2008 and one letter was dated 15 September 2008. From the names, three of those who received the letters were Chinese individuals while the other four seems to be people from outside the Kedayan community.

Lots 3935 and 4448 were alienated and issued with a provisional lease to a company on 6 February 2001 for the purpose of an oil palm plantation with an area of 1180 hectares and 550 hectares respectively. The land is situated at least two kilometres away from the nearest village and therefore the possibility of any village located within the provisional lease area is far-fetched.

Based on records, all land that may be subject to Native Customary Rights (NCR) have been excluded from the provisional lease area.

On 21 June 2002, a dialogue was held by the Superintendent of Lands and Surveys, Miri Division with several Ketua Kaums who represented the people from the Kedayan- Malay villages.

The outcome of the dialogue then was that the appointed surveyors by the company would be allowed to carry out the perimeter survey and to determine the locations of their so-called NCR and cemetery site.

However, on 22 March 2003, three persons namely Abu Bakar Pangis, Salim Hj Ebrahim and Sapar Ismail had filed a writ of summons in the Miri High Court naming Tung Cheong Sawmill Sdn Bhd, Superintendent of Lands and Surveys, Miri Division and the State Government as defendants over Lot 3935 Lambir Land District.

Since the matter has been filed with the Court, the Department is not able to proceed in dealing with the matter as it will be subjudice. In fact, the hearing for the case will be on 19 Nov 2008.

As for Lot 4448 Sibuti Land District, officers from the Land and Survey Department Miri had carried out two inspections over the said land. There was no cemetery found within the land as alleged. However, I had directed my Superintendent in Miri to call in the affected people soon to tackle the issues brought up by them. I wish to emphasise here that there is no intention on the part of the government to evict the 10,000 people from the 13 Kedayan-Malay villages as alleged.

Resettlement involving the Rakyat is a very sensitive matter and any such programme would normally be handled by a State Task Force involving Ministers and the State Secretary. To think or to imply that the Ministers or the government is not aware of the eviction order involving 10,000 people is utterly ridiculous.

Our initial investigation seems to suggest that there are land speculators behind the whole issue. The people had entered into illegal transaction and agreement with the ‘so-called NCR’ land claimants and embarked into plantation business. The Department will not recognise such transactions and therefore advise the public not to enter into such agreements in order to avoid incurring losses.

Datu Sudarsono Osman
Director of Lands and Surveys Sarawak