In a first, the Federal Court allowed today a group of indigenous Sarawakians the right to challenge their state government’s move to take away their homes — a case with huge implications for the impending state polls.
Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi, who headed a three-man panel of judges, made the decision today to hear the two civit suits together on April 28 at 9am.
Bato Bagi and Jalang Paran had previously taken the Sarawak government to court to reclaim their lost NCR lands, and failed at the High Court and Court of Appeal.
The former’s suit concerned the loss of land due to the Bakun Dam hydroelectric project that dated back to 1997.
Jalang’s suit was against the government’s sale of their ancestral land to a private company to build a pulpwood mill, also dating back some to the 1990s.
However, Zaki said the apex court will only be looking at one question: whether Sarawak’s state laws on tribal land issues was unconstitutional.
The top judge noted that there have been many NCR disputes that have been taken to court over the years and which are still pending.
He said he believed that the question on whether Section 5 (3) and (4) of the Sarawak Land Code was made beyond the powers of Articles 5 and 13 of the Federal Constitution — the highest law in the country — would be enough to deal with the heart of the NCR issue.
Lawyer for the natives, Baru Bian, told reporters today’s decision was the first time the particular statutes are being dealt with in the Federal Court and would determine how tribal lands in Sarawak are seen from now on.
“Section 5 gives the state government the power to just take away their lands,” he said.
He said some 200 NCR cases have been filed in court to date, and added that he personally handles about half the numbers.
Baru who is also Sarawak PKR chief said how the Federal Court handles the case next will have a great political impact because it concerns the very life and livelihood of the natives’ way of life.
In arguing for the natives’ right to appeal earlier, Baru’s colleague, Sulaiman Abdullah, said that NCR land cannot be seen in the same context as an ordinary land acquisition case in Peninsular Malaysia.
Sulaiman said it was because the indigenous see the land as the source of their life and livelihood and not just a place to build a house.
As such, the state government must be able to provide a suitable alternative that goes beyond monetary compensation if it wanted to take over the land for development purposes.
The Sarawak government had attempted to persuade the Federal Court to throw out the natives’ appeal earlier.
Its state legal counsel, Datuk JC Fong, argued that in both Bato’s and Jalang’s cases, the state government had already offered cash compensation and set aside another area for the affected natives to settle down.
Bato, 64, who attended the court proceedings today, related his bitterness at losing his village to the Bakun Dam project.
The village headman said he had visited the government’s resettlement area in Sungai Asap several times previously and rejected the place as a suitable habitat.
“It’s all sand,” he told reporters during a break in court proceedings today.
He said it was impossible for his people to grow anything there, which was why they had chosen to move upstream of the Bakun Dam after their former home was flooded for the hydroelectric project.
Bato’s complaints were echoed by Jaili Sulaiman, the son-in-law of Jalang Paran, the applicant in the other suit against the state government who has since passed away.
Jaili, 44, said Jalang died on November 16 last year aged 97.
The younger man said conditions in their village in Tatau, Bintulu were harsh but the resettlement area some six hours away by boat was worse.
He said the state government had offered a measly RM4,000 a hectare to acquire their ancestral land totaling 6,000 hectares.
In addition to the cash compensation, each family was entitled to three acres in the resettlement area.
However, Jaili said the soil was unsuitable for planting any kind of crop, let alone the rubber which had been the villagers’ main source of income before they were told to pack up and leave.
The father of five said some three longhouse residents numbering 1,500 people had accepted the compensation package.
But the remaining residents in the 24 longhouses — each longhouse is home to between 300 and 500 people — were adamant in staying put.
Like Baru, the Sarawak native predicts the NCR land tussle in court will have a major impact on the coming state polls.
“This will be a big issue, like Egypt and Libya,” Jaili said, linking their fight for NCR rights in Sarawak to the revolution sweeping the Middle East.
A British journalist who runs an website and online radio critical of Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Abdul Mahmud says that her task is not to oust the long-time leader.
“I do not see it as my job to bring down Taib. That is for the Sarawakian people to decide,” said Clare Rewcastle Brown in an email interview withMalaysiakini.
Rewcastle Brown runs the fiercely anti-Taib websiteSarawak Report which has exposed the chief minister's alleged global business empire and corrupt activities.
She is also responsible for underground radio stationRadio Free Sarawak,which began broadcasting in November last year on shortwave.
“I just want to make sure that they receive all the information about what has been happening to their resources and to their wealth, so that they can make an informed choice,” said Rewcastle Brown, who is sister-in-law of former British prime minister Gordon Brown.
“I do not see it as my job to bring down Taib. That is for the Sarawakian people to decide,” said Clare Rewcastle Brown in an email interview withMalaysiakini. Rewcastle Brown runs the fiercely anti-Taib websiteSarawak Report which has exposed the chief minister's alleged global business empire and corrupt activities.
She is also responsible for underground radio stationRadio Free Sarawak,which began broadcasting in November last year on shortwave.
“I just want to make sure that they receive all the information about what has been happening to their resources and to their wealth, so that they can make an informed choice,” said Rewcastle Brown, who is sister-in-law of former British prime minister Gordon Brown.
'Evidence easily available'
She argues that she is providing a "vital service from a safe distance" because Sarawakians right to a free press was being denied by the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and abuse of power.
"It is up to Sarawakians how they wish to spread the news (we provide),” she said.
The former BBC journalist, who began her career in 1983, also adds that her work relies only on material that can be proven and she would readily hand over evidence to the Malaysian authorities.
“Most of it, as we have demonstrated, is a matter of public record. This is why it has been difficult to disprove. We have heard nothing back from Taib Mahmud, despite several invitations to reply to our accusations.
“We would be only too delighted to hand over all this evidence to the Malaysian police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should they show the slightest interest. Most of it they could have accessed themselves anyway without much trouble,” she said.
The brains behind Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak wererevealed on Wednesday. They decided to go public following several death threats.
Excerpts of the email interview, edited for clarity, follows:
"It is up to Sarawakians how they wish to spread the news (we provide),” she said. The former BBC journalist, who began her career in 1983, also adds that her work relies only on material that can be proven and she would readily hand over evidence to the Malaysian authorities.
“Most of it, as we have demonstrated, is a matter of public record. This is why it has been difficult to disprove. We have heard nothing back from Taib Mahmud, despite several invitations to reply to our accusations.
“We would be only too delighted to hand over all this evidence to the Malaysian police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should they show the slightest interest. Most of it they could have accessed themselves anyway without much trouble,” she said.
The brains behind Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak wererevealed on Wednesday. They decided to go public following several death threats.
Excerpts of the email interview, edited for clarity, follows:
Malaysiakini: In the London Evening Standard report, you mentioned that Sawarak Report had received death threats. Tell us more. Were they from Taib's men? Do you take this seriously? Have you reported this to the authorities?
Rewcastle Brown: We have received unpleasant emails, but they were anonymous so we are making no accusations about who sent them. However, this was one reason why we decided to come out into the open.
We have lodged a report to the UK police, who are monitoring the situation. We think our safety is less threatened in the UK that it would be if we went to Malaysia.
Sarawak Report has been reporting Taib's alleged corrupt activities and his alleged global business empire. Do you have hard evidence and witnesses to back your claims? Are you prepared to hand them to Malaysian or international authorities?
We have only published what we can prove and we have laid out our sources and evidence in Sarawak Report. Most of it, as we have demonstrated, is a matter of public record. This is why it has been difficult to disprove.
We have heard nothing back from Taib Mahmud, despite several invitations to reply to our accusations. We would be only too delighted to hand over all this evidence to the Malaysian police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should they show the slightest interest.
Most of it they could have accessed themselves anyway without much trouble!
Rewcastle Brown: We have received unpleasant emails, but they were anonymous so we are making no accusations about who sent them. However, this was one reason why we decided to come out into the open.
We have lodged a report to the UK police, who are monitoring the situation. We think our safety is less threatened in the UK that it would be if we went to Malaysia.
Sarawak Report has been reporting Taib's alleged corrupt activities and his alleged global business empire. Do you have hard evidence and witnesses to back your claims? Are you prepared to hand them to Malaysian or international authorities?
We have only published what we can prove and we have laid out our sources and evidence in Sarawak Report. Most of it, as we have demonstrated, is a matter of public record. This is why it has been difficult to disprove.
We have heard nothing back from Taib Mahmud, despite several invitations to reply to our accusations. We would be only too delighted to hand over all this evidence to the Malaysian police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should they show the slightest interest.
Most of it they could have accessed themselves anyway without much trouble!
Are you prepared if Taib and his alleged business associates take legal action against you?
Yes.
It would seem you are building up momentum to oust Taib. But then again, most in Sarawak has no access to the Internet. Have you found ways to help spread your reports in Sarawak?
I do not see it as my job to bring down Taib. That is for the Sarawakian people to decide about. I just want to make sure that they receive all the information about what has been happening to their resources and to their wealth, so that they can make an informed choice.
This is their right and BN have corruptly denied them that right by suppressing the freedom of the media and persecuting people who speak out or hold the government to account.
Yes.
It would seem you are building up momentum to oust Taib. But then again, most in Sarawak has no access to the Internet. Have you found ways to help spread your reports in Sarawak?
I do not see it as my job to bring down Taib. That is for the Sarawakian people to decide about. I just want to make sure that they receive all the information about what has been happening to their resources and to their wealth, so that they can make an informed choice.
This is their right and BN have corruptly denied them that right by suppressing the freedom of the media and persecuting people who speak out or hold the government to account.Because of the abuse of the ISA law and the abuse of power generally, no journalist or opposition person who speaks out about the corruption in Sarawak is safe from persecution.
It is for this reason that I am providing this one vital service from the safety of a distant country, where the role of objective journalism is still respected and protected. It is up to Sarawakians how they wish to spread the news.
Your critics have dubbed your work as blatant Western meddling in Asian countries. They accuse you of being funded by “foreign agents” with vested interests. How do you respond to this?
Well they have to say something! BN has spent millions of ringgit hiring New York, Maddison Avenue PR (public relations) people to plug their own message in the Malaysian media, so why are they so upset by my shoestring, voluntary operation to redress some of that balance?
It is for this reason that I am providing this one vital service from the safety of a distant country, where the role of objective journalism is still respected and protected. It is up to Sarawakians how they wish to spread the news.
Your critics have dubbed your work as blatant Western meddling in Asian countries. They accuse you of being funded by “foreign agents” with vested interests. How do you respond to this?
Well they have to say something! BN has spent millions of ringgit hiring New York, Maddison Avenue PR (public relations) people to plug their own message in the Malaysian media, so why are they so upset by my shoestring, voluntary operation to redress some of that balance?
My agenda is the agenda of the people of Sarawak, whose jungle and resources have been greedily taken leaving them destitute. So many of the people I have met there have asked me for whatever help I can give them in exposing their terrible problems and now they are warmly thanking me.
This is my agenda and I will stop the moment people from Sarawak no longer want or need my help.
You left Sarawak for the UK when you were eight years old. Have you tried to go back? If yes, did you face any problems?
Yes, I have come back a number of times in recent years, which is how I came to learn of the terrible things that have happened to Sarawak's people and environment.
I was appalled at the dismissive view of the chief minister towards his people when I asked him at a press conference in 2005 whether he thought the interior tribes had anything of value to offer to the rest of the world.
His reply? "Ha ha, yes, we have put all that stuff into a museum somewhere!"
I realised that this arrogant and ignorant attitude was behind nearly all of the problems facing the poor people of Sarawak today.
This is my agenda and I will stop the moment people from Sarawak no longer want or need my help.
You left Sarawak for the UK when you were eight years old. Have you tried to go back? If yes, did you face any problems?
Yes, I have come back a number of times in recent years, which is how I came to learn of the terrible things that have happened to Sarawak's people and environment.
I was appalled at the dismissive view of the chief minister towards his people when I asked him at a press conference in 2005 whether he thought the interior tribes had anything of value to offer to the rest of the world. His reply? "Ha ha, yes, we have put all that stuff into a museum somewhere!"
I realised that this arrogant and ignorant attitude was behind nearly all of the problems facing the poor people of Sarawak today.
On recent visits to Malaysia, it has been made clear that I am no longer welcome for being outspoken on these issues.
Officials have informed me I am on a 'blacklist' and will be watched whenever I enter the country. I am now always held up at immigration and my mobile phone is then always blocked.
Officials have informed me I am on a 'blacklist' and will be watched whenever I enter the country. I am now always held up at immigration and my mobile phone is then always blocked.
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