KUCHING, Oct 8, 2014: Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) has
called on the Sarawak government not to ignore the overwhelming landmark court
rulings when finding solutions to disputes over claims to the native customary
rights (NCR) land.
Its president SM Mohamed Idris said that the courts have
upheld that indigenous territorial domain is beyond the government’s
interpretation of what constituted NCR land.
"Nevertheless, we urge the government to pay urgent
attention to the long-standing NCR disputes in Sarawak and call upon the oil
palm industry to conduct business ethically by respecting claims of NCR,"
he said in a statement today.
Idris expressed SAM's concern that thousands of oil palm
smallholders in Sarawak are severely impacted by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s
(MPOB) directive prohibiting traders from purchasing fresh fruit bunches (FFBs)
of ‘suspicious’ origins.
The directive came into effect since 1 July, 2014.
"It has come to SAM’s knowledge that at least in the
Baram region of the Miri division of Sarawak, the directive has subsequently
resulted in the revocation and suspension of trading licences following
subsequent enforcement actions by MPOB.
"These traders, acting as middlemen between
smallholders comprising mostly indigenous communities and the established
millers owned by big plantation companies, have over the years formed an
integral part of the supply chain of palm oil development in Sarawak," he
said.
SAM learnt that for the Baram region, FFBs of
‘suspicious’ origins involved those purportedly stolen from plantations namely
Sg Lelak, Loagan Bunut and Bukit Limau, which are plantations linked to two
giant oil palm companies - Boustead and IOI.
These plantations are embroiled in on-going conflicts
with local communities that are claiming native customary rights (NCR) over the
planted areas following non-payment or unsatisfactory payment over the years of
the promised dividends from the government-sanctioned joint-venture schemes.
SAM further learnt that the MPOB’s directive was a
decision taken by the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC)
after a dialogue session with the oil palm plantation industry on June 9, 2014.
Besides prohibiting traders from buying FFBs from these
land dispute hot spots, MPOB in its notice to traders, included a general
reference of the acceptable or legitimate maximum yield of 2 tonnes per hectare
per month from smallholders. Sales of yield beyond the ‘acceptable’ volume are
therefore considered to be of ‘suspicious’ origins.
It further pronounced that traders who ignored the
directive will be considered guilty of colluding with offenders and that MPOB
will not hesitate to take stern actions including suspension of trading
licences.
Smallholders are required to produce their certificate
from MPOB whenever they want to sell their harvests to MPOB-licenced traders.
However, SAM learnt that many of these certificates are
not updated when smallholders expanded their plantations due to administrative
shortcomings on the part of MPOB itself.
The closure and suspension (some up to three months) of
the ‘ramps’ (referring to the infrastructure provided by the traders on their
premises) have caught many smallholders by surprise.
The pro-big business move by MPOB to punish some of the
smallholders is directly affecting the livelihood of thousands of innocent
smallholders.
Many indigenous communities had wholeheartedly
participated in this form of land development encouraged directly by MPOB,
other state government agencies and both the Federal and state governments.
They would now be forced to travel further afield to sell
their harvest which means incurring higher costs of production and a diminished
prospect for a better life.
Many had taken out bank loans for 4-wheel-drive vehicle
as a necessary means for them to transport their produce to the market and they
might sink deeper into debt if they continue to default on their installments.
It is unclear how long the directive will be in effect
and what is the ministry’s plan to resolve not only the disputes in the Baram
region but similar disputes elsewhere in Sarawak.
The thoughtless actions of MPOB have revealed the
government’s defence of its deforestation and unbridled oil palm development
policies in the name of poverty eradication, to be a sham.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Council’s claim of championing
smallholders’ rights for prosperity is nothing more than a hollow public
relation charade.
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