By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Apr 18: Villagers from Sg Kajah in Kanowit are crying foul over what they claim is an encroachment into their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land by a timber company operating under a Licensed Planted Forest (LPF) permit.
Sg Kajah Land Committee (AJKTSK) chairman TR Kujat Dudang said the company has allegedly cleared land within their gazetted NCR territory without the consent of the community.
He said the land in question—Block 1: Lot 8 in the Sepali Land District—was officially gazetted under Section 6 of the Sarawak Land Code (SLC) on June 30, 2016 (Ref: LXXI 18 Julai 2016 No. 49), and later approved for survey under Section 18 on Oct 22, 2020 (Ref: 6/ST/3D/16/2020).
The alleged encroachment is believed to have begun as early as 2022, when villagers noticed logging activities taking place within their customary land.
A police report was lodged on Dec 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 TR Kujat and his team discovered that parts of the land in Ulu Kajah had been cleared without consultation.
“I filed another complaint with the relevant government department in Sibu and extended a copy of that letter to relevant parties, but the lackadaisical attitude by the authorities really makes me pissed off.
“Maybe that was what the late Tok Nan meant when he said, ‘Ada mata buta; ada telinga tuli’ (They have eyes but are blind; ears but deaf),” he said.
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.
“We’ve tried all lawful channels, but no one seems to care. We’re left with no option but to speak up through social media to highlight our plight,” he added. – DayakDaily
