Plight of the landless: Pitas villagers plead Sabah CM to intervene
KOTA KINABALU - Over 100 villagers in Pitas have amassed in front of Menara Kinabalu, here, to deliver a memorandum for the government to intervene over their land ownership dispute which has been unresolved for more than 30 years.
These aggrieved villagefolks had no choice but to resort in such a manner after finding out that a company -- had in February -- already acquired the much-covetted lands.
"We have made applications since 1997 to the Sabah State Forestry Development Authority (Safoda) and was approved a year later," Kampung Niatang village action commitee chairman Hollynah Mopuas told reporters today.
"Afterwards we continued to apply for land however, until now we had no land ownership rights. In 2016 we were shocked with news that our homes were owned by a company.
"Finally in February a representative from the company informed us that they have grants of the lands and this negated our applications even though we had been settling in the village for a long time," she added.
Hollynah said she was shocked on how the company had gained rights to the lands which they have been unsucessfully applying for all these years.
"According to the Land and Survey Office our applications were cancelled however, Safoda authorities stated the land we resided in did not overlap with any application.
"So today we show up to fight for our rights to the land, not an outside party because we own documents showing the land was ours and we demand justice," she said.
It is understood that over 500 residents from Kampung Niatang, Kampung Marung, Kampung Rukom Laut and Kampung Layung were affected when their 655 hectares of lands were taken over by the company.
The residents informed that multiple crops -- that were cultivated as a source of livelihood for the residents namely rubber, palm oil, corn and cassava crops -- were destroyed following the takevover.
Meanwhile, Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) Secretary-General Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim said only 20 per cent of land in the village is left.
"The village's crops were destroyed four weeks ago and only 20 per cent is left untouched.
"This incident is devastating for them because they were the original residents from the Rungus tribe and they had been there for generations," he said.
He said MHO had escalated the matter to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and requested for an investigation over the issue.
"The original residents that toiled the lands were driven out by outsiders and were given grants.
"We have to send a memorandum to the MACC to have an investigation regarding claims that there were no residents in the area despite the opposite," he said.
Hishamuddin informed that their memorandum was received by the representatives from Sabah Chief Minister's Office Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
