Kota Belud villagers stage protest
Published on: Friday, August 18, 2017
Kota Belud: Some 200 villagers of Kg Taburan here staged a peaceful protest recently against two companies they alleged to have encroached into their customary land.Their spokesman, Anggun Ripou, claimed that the companies had applied for 1,150 acres along the coastal area in the village without their knowledge.He said the villagers had applied for the same land in 1979 and were left suspicious how it was possible for the companies to make an overlapping application.
ADVERTISEMENT
The villagers resorted to staging the peaceful protest after claiming that their repeated objections against the companies' application, including one police report lodged, did not result in any action taken.Their call on the Director of the Land and Survey Department to cancel the companies' land application in 2014 also proved unsuccessful, said Anggun."But we villagers are determined to defend our ancestral land at all cost from the companies."They have applied for land which we have applied long time ago and are now holding LAs (Land Applications).
ADVERTISEMENT
Land titles are in the process of being issued," he said.He also pointed out that parts of the land applied for by the companies are the community's burial ground, grazing reserve and housing settlement.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We're suspicious how it is possible that they can apply in the first place," he added.Meanwhile, another community leader, Taining Susun, said the companies have no right to apply since they are outsiders.He insisted the Land and Survey Department to refer to the villagers' first application in 1979.In the meantime, a youth leader in the village, Malilin Singga, expressed fear that if the companies managed to acquire the land, the community will lose what they have inherited from their ancestors.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
