Divers Paths to Justice - English - Forest Peoples Programme

Divers Paths to Justice: Legal pluralism and the rights of indigenous peoples inSoutheast Asiaparticularly thorny issue. 43 In the early 21 st century it seemed that theSuhakam did not recognise native customary land rights as a component ofhuman rights. 44 This disjuncture between discourse and practice regardingthe importance of resolving native land case leaves one wondering: Whoseinterests does the Suhakam represent?The Suhakam’s lack of action on the question of native land rights mirroredthe stance of many of Sabah’s politicians at the time. In 2005, the Presidentof the Consumer Association of Sabah (CASH) called for the State to set upa commission to look into the problems with land applications. In anappalling understatement, bordering on naiveté, the President of CASHsaid:What is most perplexing is that there are cases of local peoplewho had submitted land applications earlier but did not get theland title whereas applications made later for the same land bybig companies were approved by the Land and SurveyDepartment . . . This problem is getting serious and there is aneed for the department to explain why these big companiesare given special treatment at the expense of local people. 45In an equally underwhelming speech launching the Ninth Malaysia Plan2006–2010 by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Yab Dato’Seri Abdullah AhmadBadawi in 2006, the following is the only mention of native land rights inthe entire thirty nine page speech:We will also assist the development of customary land inSabah and Sarawak... [by] creating more income generatingopportunities through Skim Pembangunan KesejahteraanRakyat (Peoples Prosperity Development Scheme) andrelocation schemes…43 In some places it is reported that complaints on land issues constituted up to 80%of the complaints the Suhakam receives (Bernama 2005a; 2005b; see also Thien2005).44 Nicholas 200245 Bernama 2005c98