Sook villagers unhappy land given to firms

Sabah: Villagers in Karamatoi are furious that approval has been given to land applications by three companies over 6,589 hectares even though the locals have also applied for the same land since the 1980s.Former village head Rauni Gambar who represented 233 villagers said they applied for 3,500 acres in the area but their application was rejected.

However, when he found out the companies' applications were approved and their villages were included in the applications, he lodged a police report against the companies for attempting to seize the villagers' ancestral land in the area.

Meanwhile, another former village head in Kg Momogun, Moyok Angulor said he had also applied for 5,000 acres for their villages but their application was rejected.

But when a company applied for the land to be converted into an oil palm plantation, its application was given the green light.

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The three companies were said to have a joint venture with Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB) to open up oil palm plantation on their behalf.

A total of 25 villages and 5,000 people are currently living on the 6,589 hectares or 16,275 acres which now belong to the three companies.

Sabah Star President Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan, when contacted, said the Government should have given higher priority to the villagers who have been living in the area for generations.

"People First? Where is social justice? This proves that the BN government had failed to protect and defend the rights of the natives and therefore must be changed," he said.

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He also called on the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to advise assemblymen and local leaders to go to the ground and listen to the people's demands.

"He had always repeated the mantra, People First, Performance Now. Instead, what do you see? Private companies first, not the people," he said.

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