By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 21: In response to claims by Sungai Kajah villagers in Bintulu on alleged encroachment into their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land by a timber company operating under a Licensed Planted Forest (LPF) permit, the Forest Department Sarawak (FDS) will defer to the Land and Survey Department to verify the NCR land status.
“Please be informed that the location stated in the said letter has yet to be confirmed and verified.
“As such, FDS defers to the Land and Survey Department to verify the NCR status of the land in question. FDS will only proceed with further action once official verification has been obtained from L&S.
“We appreciate the understanding and cooperation in this matter and assure that FDS will act in accordance with laws and regulations,” said the FDS in a statement issued today.
On April 18, Sungai Kajah Land Committee (AJKTSK) chairman TR Kujat Dudang said the timber company has allegedly cleared land within their gazetted NCR territory without the community’s consent.
The alleged encroachment was believed to have begun as early as 2022, when villagers noticed logging activities taking place within their NCR land.
A police report was lodged on December 23, 2023, followed by an official letter in early 2024 urging that the area—already gazetted under Section 6 and approved for land title under Section 18—be excluded from any timber licence. However, no concrete action was taken.
The situation escalated in early April this year, when it was discovered that parts of the land in Ulu Kajah had been cleared without consultation.
Kujat further said legal recourse is being considered, with his lawyers looking into possible breaches under Section 65(3) of the Forest Ordinance 1965, Section 5(3) of the SLC, and Article 13 of the Federal Constitution, which protects property rights.
He stressed that the land, covering 191 hectares, has long been part of their ancestral territory, and the extracted timber should not have been removed without consultation or consent. — DayakDaily
