Friday, Jan 22 2010, KUCHING: There was joy for a group of Iban longhouse folks from Bintulu when the High Court ruled that they have native customary rights to a disputed piece of land within a provisional lease issued to a plantation company.
In granting their rights to the land, the court ruled that the
provisional lease over the 1,214ha disputed area was null and void.
It ordered oil palm company Ladang Sawit Bintulu Sdn Bhd to leave the
disputed area, excise it from its provisional lease and return it to
the Ibans.
The ruling was handed down by judge David Wong in chambers here yesterday.
The Iban plaintiffs led by Tuai Rumah Agi Bungkong had filed a suit in
2001 against Ladang Sawit Bintulu and four other defendants, including
the state government, to seek a declaration of native customary rights
over their land.
They claimed that the provisional lease issued in 1996 to Ladang Sawit Bintulu had wrongly included their native customary land.
They contended that there had been no prior extinguishment of their
native customary rights over the land and therefore, the issuance of
the provisional lease was unlawful.
Counsel for the plaintiffs Baru Bian told reporters that the legal
victory showed that the natives of Sarawak had recourse to justice in
the courts regarding native customary land.
Source: The Star, Friday January 22, 2010
Latest News 
