By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, June 30: Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) has thrown down the gauntlet to the Sarawak government, demanding full transparency on the surveying and distribution of Native Customary Rights (NCR) land titles.
Its permanent chairman Dr John Brian Anthony said recent remark made by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan suggesting that large swaths of NCR lands have been surveyed and issued with titles are misleading and fail to reflect the ground reality.
“We challenge the government to disclose, with full transparency, the exact locations, number of lots, and names of rightful owners who have benefitted.
“Many affected communities continue to report delays, lack of consultation and titles issued not to rightful landowners but to private companies or proxies,” he said in a statement today.
He warned that such practices not only perpetuate land grabs “under a veil of legality” but also sow division and distrust among the Dayak people.
On June 28, Awang Tengah explained that since 2010, Sarawak has adopted a new approach to NCR land surveying, carried out in two phases—the perimeter survey and individual lot survey—both based on landowner applications.
To date, more than 1.2 million hectares of NCR land have been surveyed under the perimeter phase, with nearly one million hectares issued with land titles under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code, while the second phase involving the survey of individual lots has also recorded significant progress.
Awang Tengah’s remarks came in response to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar who had called for expedited surveys and ownership approvals for NCR land, while urging a halt to the issuance of new licences on disputed areas.
Describing the NCR land issue as “a matter of Dayak survival,” Dr John Brian stressed that the fight for ancestral land is not seasonal or political but deeply rooted in culture, history and identity.
“A Dayak without land is as good as nothing. For generations, our people have stood strong to defend our ancestral lands. Many have paid the price—some with their freedom, and some, tragically, with their lives,” he said.
He also criticised the Gabungan Parti Sarawak-led (GPS) government for what he described as repeated failures to act on land issues outside of campaign seasons, calling it “gula-gula pilihan raya” (election candy) meant to secure votes but not deliver results.
Dr John Brian further called for four urgent actions from the State government namely immediate recognition and gazettement of NCR lands; an end to the criminalisation of Dayak land defenders; transparent, inclusive land dispute resolution mechanisms; and legal recognition of adat as part of Sarawak’s justice framework.
“The Dayak are not asking for special treatment—we are demanding justice long overdue,” he said, affirming PBDS’ commitment to continue standing with affected villagers, traditional leaders, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and all land rights defenders.
He also paid tribute to the legacies of the late land rights activists Nicholas Bawin, Bill Kayong, and Dennis Along, saying their fight must not be in vain. — DayakDaily
