Divers Paths to Justice - English - Forest Peoples Programme

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Divers Paths to Justice: Legal pluralism and the rights of indigenous peoples inSoutheast Asiacooperation of the native chiefs. The latter were made exempt from thepayment of land rents, in return for which they would be held responsible inpart for ensuring that the population in their areas complied with the landsettlement plans. 15 But even that was apparently not enough incentive fornative participation.For example, the Assistant District Officer from Keningau in the InteriorResidency, in his report to the Resident of Tenom, expressed his dismayover the lack of compliance of the native chiefs:Paid chief Sebayai at Tambunan was arrested and detaineduntil his people pointed out their lands. Sebayai wassubsequently dismissed from government service. This year anattempt was made to roughly mark out and register nativelands. With the exception of two paid Government chiefs allthe natives refused to point out their lands... Much of thecultivated land is common land or used by others than thecustomary owner. 16As illustrated in the final sentence of the above quote, one of the primarydifficulties faced by the Company officers as they grappled with nativerights to land was their inability – or perhaps their unwillingness – tounderstand the native system of land tenure. In their view, natives weremostly “nomadic”, moving from place to place to cultivate jungle land, butrarely staying on one piece of land and “improving” it in a western sense.To many Company officers in North Borneo these features suggested thatthe natives were “squatters”, not landowners. Furthermore, the notion of thevillage (as opposed to an individual farmer) holding rights over agriculturalland frustrated the officials, who were insistent on simplifying indigenousclaims and settling individual rights only. Finally, the notion that theownership of some resources such as fruit trees could be held by anindividual or a group, irrespective of the ownership of the land underneath,was a complicated arrangement that collided with the rigid British view of15 Letter from Pearson to Government Secretary, 23 Oct.1913, CO874/796.16 Letter from Assistant District Officer in Keningau to Resident Tenom, 13 May1913, North Borneo Company Archives #1356.89
Divers Paths to Justice: Legal pluralism and the rights of indigenous peoples inSoutheast Asiaindividual property rights. While the land laws recognised many elements ofnative land tenure systems, the policies and practices of Companyadministration remained focused on a western notion of individual privateproperty.Following Dane’s recommendation to settling native land claims theCompany was eager to exact a land tax from natives, which it was hopedwould significantly increase land revenue for the Company. The followingstatement illustrates the rigid thinking on the topic of land registration andtaxation:[The natives] should be educated gradually to realise thatthey can no longer with impunity acquire land by thehitherto accepted custom of merely settling on it withoutany reference to Government and must be taught thatunder the new regime the punctual payment of rent will beconsidered by Government the first duty of a land holder. 17Fiscal returns for the registration of permanent native holdings did in factrapidly begin to produce the expected revenue. In 1914 the rent roll forindigenously held land produced around $6,000; by 1920 the amount hadrisen to $32,605. Yet paradoxically, this latter figure represented only a tinyamount of the overall yearly budget for the Company. 18 Given the relativeinsignificance of native land taxes in light of the larger State budget we cansurmise that it was not merely the financial aspects of land registration thatdrove Company officials to pursue native land settlement so vigorously.Notions of making order out of a territory perceived to be in a state ofchaos; creating rational, governable subjects through the imposition of law;and making the resources of North Borneo available for the benefit of allpeople, all played an important role in legitimising Company rule in theterritory.17 Letter from Pearson to General Secretary, 23 Oct. 1913, CO874/796. Seealso‘A.C. Pearson’s report on land’, 11 May 1909, CO 874/283, and ‘RichardDane’s report on administration, 1911’, CO 874/154.18 ‘General return of revenue, expenditure, trade, and population for 1890-1931’,North Borneo Company Archives # 579; figures from Black, 1983: 218.90
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Divers Paths to Justice - English - Forest Peoples Programme

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