By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 31: Activist Peter John Jaban echoes and strongly supports the views of academician Professor Datuk Dr Jayum Jawan, calling on the Sarawak government to cut bureaucratic red tape that continues to delay the resolution of Native Customary Rights (NCR) land cases, describing such delays as “a denial of justice”.
According to Peter John’s statement today, he fully agreed with Jayum’s recent comments that NCR disputes have been prolonged by excessive bureaucracy, weak coordination between agencies, and a lack of decisive political will—all of which have caused immense suffering to rightful landowners.
“Some even lose their ancestral land to encroachment and development while government files move at a snail’s pace,” he lamented.
Peter John’s remarks come following a recent debate sparked by Selangau MP Edwin Banta’s proposal in Parliament for the federal government to establish a special unit akin to the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) to coordinate Dayak socioeconomic development programmes nationwide.
Jayum, who is a fellow in the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and the Institution of Malay Rulers Chair at UiTM, criticised the idea as misplaced.
He argued that Dayaks are not politically marginalised as they already have strong representation in both the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) and Parliament.
Instead, Jayum said, the real problem lies in the underperformance of lawmakers in addressing long-standing issues such as NCR land, which he described as being mired in bureaucratic red tape.
Peter John concurred, saying the failure to resolve NCR cases efficiently has created a cycle of injustice that erodes public trust in the system.
“This bureaucratic delay is not just inefficiency. It is a denial of justice. When rightful owners cannot obtain land titles or defend their territory because of slow processes, the system itself becomes complicit in their loss,” he said.
He said that tangible progress has yet to be seen despite the Sarawak government’s much-publicised efforts to revamp the Native Court system, including what Peter John believed the appointment of a special committee that was intended to elevate the system to the standard of a civil court.
“But to date, no positive move has been seen to that effect,” said Peter John.
Peter John highlighted that the Native Court system falls directly under the Premier’s Office and questioned whether sufficient funding had been allocated to make it more effective.
Due to the acute lack of magistrates, some cases in the Native Courts have been delayed for over three years. With it, Peter John said that disgruntled litigants have expressed a lack of confidence in the system’s ability to deliver justice.
He called for immediate and comprehensive reforms, outlining immediate steps for the State government to take:
- Streamline the NCR land recognition process by removing unnecessary steps and overlapping jurisdictions between agencies;
- Set strict timelines for verification, surveying, and gazettement;
- Empower local land offices and community representatives to resolve disputes quickly and transparently;
- Establish an independent review mechanism to ensure bureaucracy does not override indigenous rights; and
- Provide sufficient funding to fund the employment of more magistrates and equip Native Courts with up-to-date equipment to improve the current situation.
He also urged the relevant ministers to treat the matter as urgent and report publicly on the progress of the court reform to restore public confidence.
Peter John cited the Federal Constitution, specifically Part II of the Ninth Schedule, land administration in Sarawak is an autonomous State matter governed by the Sarawak Land Code (Cap. 81).
“All government departments and agencies related thereto must take a proactive role in this to administer a fair and just administration of land in Sarawak, including NCR matters. Expediency and cutting the red tape should be the way,” he said.
He reminded that every delay in resolving an NCR case is another injustice to the indigenous people and that bureaucracy must never stand in the way of indigenous rights and ancestral heritage.
“It is time for the government to act decisively, cut through the red tape, return the land to its rightful owners, and restore trust among the indigenous community who have waited far too long for fairness.” —DayakDaily
