Sabah govt urged to look into plight of villagers over native land issues

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government must seriously look into the plight of villagers who had recently voiced their frustrations over their native land issues, says Datuk Peter Anthony.

The Sabah-based Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) president said the government should also take immediate action to resolve the issues raised by the residents from five villages in the state’s interior Nabawan district.

He said the government or related departments should listen to their pleas and consider their applications fairly without favouring anyone.

"The fact they (villagers) were willing to travel far distances to Keningau to gather peacefully under the hot sun at the Lands and Survey Department shows the matter is serious," he said in a statement here on Thursday (May 18).

"I am not siding anyone but as we are all aware, land matters are sensitive issues, what more for villagers who depend on the land as their rice bowl," he added.

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Anthony was commenting on the peaceful gathering by some 100 villagers in the interior Keningau district on Wednesday (May 17), demanding the state government resolve the issuance of individual titles for their native ancestral lands.

Dressed in native attire, the group marched towards the district Lands and Survey Department office at about 9am, to the accompaniment of traditional music, carrying placards and banners, expressing their grouses.

Several video clips of the gathering were widely shared on social media. One clip also showed some people performing a traditional Murut dance.

The police were present to monitor the situation but no untoward incident was reported.

It was understood the villagers wanted the department to explain why the names of some 100 people from their villages were missing from the list of communal title recipients in Sapulut, close to Indonesia’s Kalimantan border.

A non-governmental organisation, which also joined the villagers in the assembly, wanted to know why the communal titles were not changed to native titles, as pledged by the government previously.

Anthony, who is also Melalap assemblyman, suggested that the government hold a dialogue session with the villagers to clear the air over the matter.

"Explain clearly to the people but don’t also forget to listen to their plight.

"Because of the sensitivity of land issues, there will be plenty of speculation if there is no face-to-face meeting.

"Also make sure there are no ‘hidden hands’ who intervene in the matter," he said.