Orang asli cannot get back their land according to Federal Court ruling

NATIVE customary rights (NCR) land cannot be returned to native owners once it has been converted to lease of state land, the Federal Court ruled last week.

“The effect of this conversion is that the disputed lands are no longer provisional leases but a lease proper and are entitled to the protection of Section 132 of the Sarawak Land Code, which title stands good against the whole world,” Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Shariff said in his written judgment.