Sarawak minister asks for probe against police inaction and intimidation of local landowners
A Sarawak minister has admitted that plantation and logging firms in the Borneo state have hired thugs and gangsters to threaten native landowners while local police remain idle and ignore the complaints.
Sarawak Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing (pic, left) has said that the threats against the native customary rights (NCR) landowners in Melikin, Serian, has prompted him to submit a "detailed account" to the federal police in Bukit Aman and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to enable them to investigate further.
"The non-action of the police is worrying me," he told The Malaysian Insider in state capital Kuching.
The NCR landowners have claimed that two companies operating there have encroached on their land and the thugs silenced their protests. Masing also disclosed that the two companies are at “war” with each other over land matters.
"We cannot allow gangsters to rule this country and harass ordinary folk who try to protect and safeguard their properties," he added.
Online news portal Sarawak Report had reported three days ago of “political interference” in the police inaction.
The portal claimed it could “reveal” how four gangster leaders, who were arrested “after the discovery of an enormous illegal arms cache at the disputed logging and plantation concessions at Melikin”, were freed “on instructions from ministers”.
Sarawak Report claimed the two companies had been granted controversial licences on NCR lands in the area.
It named the companies as United Teamtrade Sdn Bhd and Memaju Jaya Sdn Bhd.
The portal also claimed that the companies have strong ties to “powerful BN political figures in Sarawak”, referring to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
“Information on the shocking decision to release the armed thugs was passed to Sarawak Report after the latest spate of assaults on native customary rights landowners, including the hospitalising of a local Tua Rumah Sujau, who was rammed off his motorbike and then beaten with iron bars and sticks,” it claimed.
Land owners have claimed that they had over the years, lodged reports of intimidation and assaults with the police, but none have been acted on.
They claimed police had instead arrested many of those who lodged the reports.
That, Masing said, had resulted in the people not trusting the police.
“How can you allow this to happen? I want the police to take immediate action to stop it. The state government is taking the matter very seriously.
“The fear among the people of Melikin is real. They even have photographs showing their wounds inflicted by the gangsters. The police should see the pictures,” the minister said.
Masing said he had also received many calls and text messages from landowners throughout the state expressing concern over the presence of these thugs and the failure of the police to act on the reports lodged against the thugs. - November 10, 2013.
