Sabah CM gets tick-off over his statement

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 13, 2014:  Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS), is appalled by Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman's statement that native lands in the State have always been protected and prioritised by the government.

Apart from blaming the natives for selling their land, Musa also accused NGOs such as PACOS Trust of misleading and confusing the natives.

“Saying that PACOS is misleading and confusing the natives is completely baseless. PACOS is an

organisation doing outstanding work with Orang Asal in Sabah.

"As one of our key supporting NGOs, PACOS is a pioneer in education on Orang Asal rights and in empowering communities," JOAS president Thomas Jalong said, adding:" PACOS has been, and continues, playing an important role in defending native rights not just in Sabah but in Malaysia and globally ."

Jalong added that JOAS can vouch for PACOS’s commitment and dedication in assisting communities on land conflicts, and has been professional and responsible in conducting its work so much so that many government agencies and departments, donors, the United Nations, universities, civil society organisations and communities have referred and collaborated with PACOS.

"Moreover, PACOS has also often stood bravely to challenge and question the government on laws, policies and programmes that have not benefitted natives, and because of this, the Lands and Surveys Department and including the Chief Minister have lashed out on PACOS," Jalong said.

He said the government must not make accusations for their own shortcomings and flaws in dealing with the conflicts and realities on the ground.

He added the National Inquiry on the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples was conducted by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) precisely because of the large number of complaints by natives when they lost their land due to various reasons notably administrative delays in dealing with native land rights and the aggressive pursuit by the government to exploit land for economic gains.

"Currently there are many cases in court where natives are challenging alienation of land to companies, or were included in forest reserves.

"Likewise there are cases submitted to the complaints procedure of the government’s Public Complaints Bureau, to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), or reported by the mass media," he said. 

Jalong said Musa ought to give a breakdown as to how many natives own land out of the 1,014,959.26 acres supposedly owned by natives, as this would give a better indication whether all or at least a majority of the natives of Sabah have a decent-sized land especially those who continue to depend on their land for their livelihood.

He said the Chief Minister must also study why some natives have sold their land.

"The SUHAKAM National Inquiry reported that such sales have happened through fraudulent means, while some natives had to sell their land to support their families," he added.

He said JOAS calls on the Chief Minister to recognise and respect the roles of non-governmental

organisations to conduct its duty in disseminating information in a democratic country like Malaysia.

"The government can benefit by working with NGOs like PACOS, which has a large network on the

ground, to improve its policies and programmes, as well as amend laws that can lead to security of

land tenure for all natives in Sabah," Jalong stressed.