This is a follow up post on the 10,000 villagers to be evicted by Miri Land and Survey Department. Apparently, the eviction of 10,000 villagers is postponed, for the time being. But villagers are living on the edge as they know the bulldozers from the private developer (and Miri Land and Survey Department's Enforcement) may come after the Hari Raya holiday to demolish their century-old settlement.
Dr George Chan, the Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak said he would personally bring up the case during the state cabinet meeting for an immediate solution to be found. So, hopefully, the bulldozers did not turn up until after the state cabinet meeting.
The 13 affected kampungs were Kampung Batu Satu, Butir, Kejapil, Keluru Tengah, Keluru Jaya, Subak, Sepurau, Selanyau, Opak, Tusan, Uban, Terahad and Beraya.
Some 10,000 villagers who are mostly from the Kedayan-Malay community from Brunei had settled in the area since 1910. As such, even though they may not have legal land title, they are not squatting on government land. They settled there even before Malaysia come into being ! It is the fault of Miri Land and Survey and their MP or constituency minister for not giving the villagers proper land titles.
UPDATES: Oct 04, 2008: Not To Trespass Is Not Eviction
From The Star
Eviction of 10,000 residents ‘put on hold’
MIRI: The 10,000 residents who have been evicted from their centruty-old villages in northern Sarawak have been given a reprieve for Hari Raya.
The Sept 29 deadline for the residents of the 13 Kedayan-Malay villages in Bekenu district came but there were no bulldozers in sight to demolish their homes.
They had been asked to move out of the land that had been leased out to a Miri property developer for an oil-palm plantation and had sought the help of Sibuti MP Ahmad Lai Bujang.
Ahmad told The Star yesterday that the villagers had been living on the edge, worrying when their homes would be bulldozed.
“Luckily, the Hari Raya proved to be a reprieve. I did not see any Land and Survey Department enforcement teams or workers from the private company attempting to demolish any houses.
“The eviction has been put on hold, it seems. However, I worry what will happen after the Hari Raya.
“The issue has generated a lot of publicity. The dispute is over a big area.
“The villagers have been living there for many generations and yet the company has staked a claim as the rightful owner.
“This is turning into a big dilemma because the developer’s lawyer has issued a letter saying that the villagers are illegal squatters,” he said.
The villages are located some 40km south of here, along the Sarawak Second Coastal Highway near the Miri-Bintulu divisional boundary.
On Sept 27, the desperate villagers staged a public demonstration along the highway to garner attention to their plight.
Asked whether the villagers would get an injunction against the eviction order, Ahmad said they were looking at all avenues.
“They are appealing to the Government first before resorting to any court action,” he said.
Ahmad said that the villagers have a strong claim to the land, as they had been living there continuously since 1910 and have native land rights by virtue of their ancestral background.
The Kedayan-Malays are direct descendants of the Brunei Malay and migrated to Sarawak during the British colonial era.
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From The Borneo Post
Eviction of 10,000 to be sorted out: Dr Chan
State govt views seriously alleged eviction orders on 13 kampungs
MIRI: The state government views seriously the alleged eviction orders issued by a local oil palm company on 13 traditional kampungs in Bekenu.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan said he would personally bring up the case during the state cabinet meeting for an immediate solution to be found.
“The government is always mindful of the welfare of the people including those staying in traditional kampungs, even though they did not have land titles,” said Dr Chan.
The 13 affected kampungs were Kampung Batu Satu, Butir, Kejapil, Keluru Tengah, Keluru Jaya, Subak, Sepurau, Selanyau, Opak, Tusan, Uban, Terahad and Beraya.
Some 10,000 villagers who are mostly from the Kedayan-Malay community from Brunei had settled in the area since 1910.
Dr Chan told reporters this when leading members of Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) on a Hari Raya visit to Miri District police chief ACP Jamaluddin at the Police Complex here yesterday.
The entourage which included Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, Assistant Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communication Lee Kim Shin and Pujut assemblyman Andy Chia also visited Malay and Muslim political, corporate and public figures.
According to Dr Chan, the company concerned had been given the probationary lease by the Land and Survey Department to develop the area.
Therefore the company should not have rushed to issue eviction orders as the lease was initially to enable them to make feasibility studies on the project.
Last Saturday several representatives from the 13 kampungs staged peaceful demonstrations urging Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to intervene in the land dispute between them and the local developer.
According to Penghulu Sahar, the company was to have done some clearing work on lots No. 3935 and No. 4448 comprising 5,599 hectares, and given notice to the affected villagers to vacate the land concerned within 14 days, that was by Monday, Sept 29.
The notice dated Sept 15 was issued by the company’s lawyer.
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From The Borneo Post
Let’s talk, but don’t try any rough stuff with me: CM
By Puvaneswary Devindran
KUCHING: Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said he is open to discussion on a supposed eviction of some 10,000 villagers from 13 Kedayan-Malay villages in Bekenu.
He said although he had yet to hear from the affected villagers, he felt that the best way to resolve the matter was to come and see him and not try any rough stuff with him.
“Because once you start playing rough, you cut all communication with me. In the end, you still have to communicate with me because I’m the government … whether or not the claim is good (only) then I can consider,” he told reporters at the second day of his Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at Stadium Perpaduan here yesterday.
He stressed that there was no way of talking things through if one were to go about the situation in a rough manner.
“The government can work out something. If you want to make an appeal, make an appeal. That’s the best way. Tell the story properly,” he added.
On Saturday, a group of people from the 13 villagers protested a move to evict them from their century-old settlement by a private developer.
They allegedly received a notice on Sept 15 from the company’s lawyers to leave within 14 days.
The affected villagers, as claimed by a group that protested peacefully at Kampung Beraya junction yesterday, are from the villages of Batu Satu, Butir, Kejapil, Keluru Tengah, Keluru Jaya, Subak, Sepurau, Selanyau, Opak, Tusan, Uban, Terahad and Beraya.
The villagers claimed that the area concerned was an old burial ground of their Kedayan Muslim ancestors and that the affected cemeteries are Kubur Islam Kejapil, Kubur Butir, Kubur Sungai Jalil, Uban and Kubur Sungai Payau.
The Kedayans settled in the area sometime in 1910.
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