Divers Paths to Justice - English - Forest Peoples Programme

Divers Paths to Justice: Legal pluralism and the rights of indigenous peoples inSoutheast Asialand on the tobacco concession were not settled according to its stipulations.The land was not surveyed and set aside for native ownership, nor did thenatives receive any cash settlement. Instead, they were confined to usingland previously used by the estate and were required to pay a tax to theestate holder. Furthermore, they always had to apply to the estate managerfor permission to cultivate the land, which they had to do according to theneeds of the estate rather than their own land claims.In brief, despite the 1889 legislation, native claims to land were notrecognised when they interfered with income-producing plantation schemes.This case raises important questions about the intentions and the ability ofthe Company to work within a system of legal pluralism that acknowledgednative land rights. Without the slightest comment on the blatant disregardfor native rights illustrated in this case, Company officials forged aheadwith their mission to settle all native land rights in North Borneo.Colonial settlement of native landsIt was not until 1913 that the Company began a full-scale initiative torecognise all native land rights. There were two incentives for colonialofficials to settle native claims to land at this point in time. First was theneed to increase revenue through taxation of native holdings. In his “Reporton Administration, 1911”, Sir Richard Dane pointed out that in PeninsularMalaya significant revenue was derived from native quit rents, arguing thatin North Borneo these potential rents were being lost. Commenting on theineffective land settlement under Governor Ernest Birch’s administration(1901-3), Dane urged immediate survey and settlement of all indigenousland holdings and the payment of rent on them. 11 The second incentive forthe settlement of native claims to land was the ongoing need to generaterevenue from commercial agriculture. To encourage Europeans to invest inplantation development in North Borneo, the State needed to determinewhich lands could be deemed as “waste lands” and made available to11 ‘Richard Dane’s report on administration (1911)’, p. 88, CO874/154. Dane, aforty-year veteran of the civil service in India, was invited to report on theCompany’s administration in Borneo (Black, 1983: 210).87