By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 4: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar’s remarks on Native Customary Rights (NCR) land matters should have been an opportunity for open dialogue, says Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) permanent chairman Dr John Brian Anthony.
In a statement, John Brian was addressing Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan’s response to Nurul Izzah’s remarks, whom Awang Tengah suggested was not fully informed about the State’s progress on the ground.
“Rather than addressing the substance of Nurul Izzah’s concerns, his remarks pivoted towards political deflection,” he said.
He said that Part V of the Sarawak Land Code (Cap 81) mandates the State to carry out Settlement operations—a process that requires formal inquiries, ground surveys, and the issuance of individual titles to NCR land, which is essential for transforming customary claims into legally protected titles.
However, he noted that since around 1987, such operations have been effectively frozen across large tracts of Dayak-inhabited interior regions, which remain entangled in legal ambiguity and bureaucratic inertia.
He also noted the rapid survey and issuance of titles in favour of oil palm plantation companies and timber licensees, even in areas under active NCR claims.
“The deeper issue here is not partisan politics—it is about the recognition of Dayak land rights. The Sarawak government must immediately revive and implement Part V of the Land Code fairly and comprehensively, starting with areas that have long been subjected to corporate encroachment.
“If Sarawak is to move forward as a truly inclusive society, it must reckon with its land policies, confront its past injustices, and treat its native people as rightful partners in the State’s future,” he said. — DayakDaily
