SABAH COLUMN : No reports on Sabah land scam allegations

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Lands and Surveys Department (LSD) has issued a 13-page statement on various allegations in the latest Selvarajasomiah blog posting living-off-the-rape.

The blog posting alleges that millions of acres of NCR (Native Customary Right) land in Sabah are now owned and developed by conglomerates from Peninsular Malaysia and even from China through illegal sub-lease agreements.

LSD Director Osman Jamal stressed that his department had never received any formal reports from Native Title holders saying their lands had been taken illegally or without their consent. No one who had sold their land to a third party who then sub-leased it to a private company had ever gone to court and said they had been cheated or that the sub-lease was without their consent, he added.

“If there is indeed illegal transfer of rights, be it through sub-lease, the court may order the Lands and Surveys to cancel it and return the land to the NT title holder,” he said in dismissing allegations that LSD staff were involved as middlemen in running a land scam.

“For instance, if the signature of the owner was forged in the sub-lease agreement, without consent, this is already a criminal case and should be reported to the police. We advise complainants to lodge the report or get the land owner to lodge the report if the sub-lease is indeed illegal.”

Osman, who did not address loopholes in the law, noted that the blog posting alleged that hired local middleman including LSD staff would acquire the land for the sole purpose of sub-leasing them to a company, generally from Peninsular Malaysia.

“This was said to be robbing the natives of their lands. I must say the statement was very misleading as it portrayed the government, in particular the Lands and Surveys Department as not sensitive and not protective on the land rights of the Orang Asal,” said Osman.

He hastened to add that there would be no transfer of title to any company, and NT lands remain in the hands of the Orang Asal.

“The lands are only sub-leased and all sub-leases registered with the department had been processed accordingly based on existing laws,” he assured. “I feel that we need to explain the matter thoroughly so that people can have a better understanding and not be misled.”

“No Native Title lands were ever transferred to private companies because this simply cannot be done. NT land grabbing by private companies is a non-issue.”

The laws regarding ownership, sub-lease and even conversion of NT lands were created, amended and continuously refined, continued Osman, with the ultimate objective of protecting the rights and interest of the Orang Asal.

The Land Ordinance since 1913 only allowed for NT land to be sub-leased, he cautioned, and not sold to non-natives. The idea behind it, he said, was to prevent land dealings between Orang Asal and others while at the same time help the former add value and benefit to their lands without having to sell them.

“The British administration knew that the Orang Asal people did not have the financial capability to develop their lands, so they provided a way for a third party to develop the land in a win-win situation,” said Osman. “The Ordinance, although it has been amended many times, remains the same, and that is to protect the rights of the Orang Asal.”

“Sub-lease allows NCR lands to be developed and the installation of infrastructures by the private company, such as roads, electricity and water, will add value to the land itself while at the same time still keeping the ownership of the land with the Orang Asal.”

Osman explained that it was the policy of the Sabah Government to encourage its agencies to help the Orang Asal to develop their NCR lands through joint ventures in agricultural activities, among others. “Once the sub-lease period is over, the land automatically revert back to the NT title holder, along with all the added values,” he said.

Osman disclosed that there were 4,621 NT titles that had been sub-leased for 30 years and another 1,933 sub-leased for 99 years, involving a total area of 89,400 acres. Some four listed companies were involved in developing the lands while the rest were non-listed companies, he added.

“Only NT lands within the municipal rating zone were allowed to be converted to Country Lease (CL) while those outside the township area will remain as NT lands,” he assured.