Today, during the debate on the Ministry of Regional and Rural Development, I managed to bring up the land issues faced by the people of Tawau.
In my seven years as MP this is the first time I have debated on this ministry as my constituency is in urban area and I have very little to say when it comes to the debate of Ministry of Rural Development. However, I decided to speak this time as I want to raise the issues faced by the people in Sabah as requested by the people of Tawau when Kit Siang and I visited the state last month.
Barisan MP for Sri Aman, Donald Jimmy Lim, spoke before me and he touched on the problem of no electricity supply to one of the long houses in his constituency where he lives. He looked disheartened when he said he has been bringing this issue up in the Parliament for 12 years but nothing has changed. He said, “In view of elections are coming, I hope the electricity would be connected in his longhouse so that I need not bring the matter up again in next Parliament sitting.”
When he was speaking, my colleagues and I said, “Kasihan (pitiful), kasihan, how can this happen?”
When I was asked to speak after him, I immediately said I support Sri Aman and I urged the ministry to seriously consider his passionate pleas. I told the House I wanted to assist our BN MPs from Sabah and highlight the many issues affecting Sabahans.
The following was my speech:
Ucapan YB Teresa Kok, Ahli Parlimen Seputeh Dalam Perbahasan Peringkat Jawatankuasa Kementerian Pembangunan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah Pada 13 November 2006
01703 Kemajuan Masyarakat di SabahPertama sekali, saya ingin menyentuh tentang masalah yang dihadapi oleh penduduk dari Andrassy, Bukit Tajam dan Serudong.
Terdapat 120 penanam yang merupakan bekas pegawai kerajaan dan juga penerima pencen kerajaan di Tawau telah membuka sekeping tanah yang terbalak di hutan simpanan di Andrassy lebih daripada 20 tahun yang lepas. Pada September tahun ini, 52 daripada rumah mereka dibakar oleh pegawai daripada Jabatan Perhutanan di Sabah. Mereka merasa amat kecewa kerana rumah mereka dibakar walaupun mereka telah membentangkan aduan mereka kerypada Ketua Menteri Sabah.
Saya difahamkan bahawa mereka pernah membentangkan permohonan mereka kepada kerajaan untuk menjalankan penanaman di tanah kerajaan. Permohonan mereka juga telah mendapat sokongan daripada Menteri Pembangunan Luar Bandar dan ADUN di Sabah, mereka telahpun menggunakan wang simpanan seumur hidup mereka untuk membuka tanah dan menjalankan penanaman, kesalnya kesemua permohonan daripada bekas pegawai kerajaan ini ditolak.
Sehubungan dengan itu, 250 orang Murut selama 6 generasi di Serudung di Sabah yang telah membentangkan permohonan 1,000 ekar tanah juga merasa amat kecewa kerana tanah nenek-moyang yang mereka pohon itu telahpun diberi kepada syarikat swasta. Mereka pernah membuat permohonan kepada Jabatan Tanah dan Pengukuran sejak tahun 70-an, di samping itu, nenek-moyang mereka merupakan pemastautin yang paling awal di Serudung Lama, malah sebelum negara kita mencapai kemerdekaan, tetapi permohonan mereka masih ditolak oleh kerajaan. Keputusan pihak kerajaan Sabah ini amat mengecewakan Golongan orang Murut di Tawau ini.
Perkara yang agak sama juga berlaku di kawasan Mount Pock, Tanjong Nagos di Semporna, di mana 141 keluarga yang kebanyakannya terdiri daripada kaum Melayu telahpun menjalankan penanaman di tanah di Semporna selama 30 tahun. Mereka telah membuat permohonan tanah lebih daripada 20 tahun sejak zaman pemerintahan PBS tetapi kesalnya permohonan mereka tidak diluluskan.
Pada akhir tahun 2005, tanah mereka disewa kepada Syarikat Warisan Jayamakmur Sdn Bhd dengan sewa tahunan RM524,000. Pegawai Jabatan Perhutanan masuk ke kawasan kediaman dan penanaman mereka membakar rumah-rumah mereka, merampas kesemua hartanah termasuk kambing, ayam, mesin, kenderaan dan menebang semua pokok buah-buahan mereka. Mereka yang enggan mengosongkan tanah mereka pula ditangkap dan dimasukkan ke penjara. Selepas itu, syarikat Warisan Jayamakmur Sdn Bhd mengambil-alih kesemua buah-buahan dan hasil tanaman yang ditanam oleh kesemua keluarga tempatan.
Datuk Pengerusi, saya difahamkan bahawa ADUN di kawasan Semporna telahpun membentangkan masalah para penduduk di Mount Pock dan Tanjong Nagos secara bertulis kepada Ketua Menteri Sabah pada Januari 2006, tetapi kesalnya masalah yang dihadapi oleh kesemua 141 keluarga ini masih tidak diselesaikan, oleh itu, saya membawa isu ini ke Dewan yang mulia ini. Memandangkan Sabah mempunyai kadar keminiskinan yang paling tinggi di negara kita, saya berharap pihak kementerian yang ingin membasmikan kemiskinan boleh menunjukkan keprihatinan dan menghulurkan bantuan kepada para penanam dan peneroka di luar bandar tersebut.
My speech created quite a stir. The BN guys kacau me and made noise from their seats. They taunted: “Hey your constituency is Seputeh, nothing in Sabah.” I ignored them I continued with my speech which I only finished writing about 20 minutes before I spoke. I was interrupted by the Speaker Datuk Yusuf. He was uncomfortable to hear me speaking on the issues in Sabah as he is from Sabah. He kept asking me not to make policy speech as we are at the committee stage and we need to make specific points.
When I was making my speech, the Beluran MP, Ronald Kiandee, interupted me and asked whether I was awared that the land that I mentioned are forest reserve land. I said I was aware but I don’t think the government can be so ungrateful as to deny the application made by former government officers (in the case of Andrassy area). I also pointed out there was no justification for the way the forest reserve agency burnt and destroyed the houses of settlers who have plouged the land for so long.
It’s a wonder how I managed to deliver my short speech in about five minutes despite interruptions and noise from Sabah BN MPs.
YB Teresa,
I admire ur effort. You put to shame all those BN MPs from Sabah.I will be ashame to stand near them if they still sit around and do nothing about the matter after u have highted it. You have become the voice of the voiceless.
I hope one day somehow somewhere our MPs’ house or their parents’ house is burned down, fruit trees chop off, machinery taken, their livelihood taken away and they have to walk on the street with nothing, see whether they will still support the action of the forestry or keep a blind eye on the issue.It takes a human heart to live like a human being. “Do to others what you would like others do to you” and most men could not pass this simple test. Keep on the good work.
Regards
James Wong, Tawau, Sabah.
Why rent it to a company when it could be rent out to the 141 Tanjong Nagos family. Why enrich a few when the majority will become poorer.
god bless you for speaking up. for standing tall even while the other rude mps try to shout you down. they should be ashamed of themselves.
The reason the MPs kacau you, is because maybe they are the one behind the company who had been given a temporary 25-years lease, and then re-lease it for RM524,000 per annum, without investing a single cent. This is what the Chinese proverb saying “Kerbau yang penat-penat berkebun, tikus (GAJAH) yang datang makan hasil”. The poor and landless rightfully deserve to be given the lands to eradicate their poverty level, but in this case everything including their hard saved blood money were taken away and given to the rich and powerful to make money out of their hardship and tears.
In real situation, I don’t think the Forest Director Datuk Sam Manan is really sincere to do reforestation, by using the reason of illegal occupation in the name of forest reserve and reforestation and use cruel and inhuman ways, torching, bulldozing, arresting those who refuse to go including chopping away their basic minimum livelihood of fruit trees, taking away chickens for eggs and goats for milk and fruit for vitamin and rice and vehicle for transportation that were sold without tender. They have such a wide ranging power to crucify nothing but the poor people who are desperate to make a living without depending on the government subsidy, but only need the sympathy dignity to own a small plot of land, which they deserve, which every Malaysian deserve in their birth rights. Even our colonial master would never do such things to deny the people of their fundamental needs to own a piece of land to be self sufficient. I believe such unbelievable atrocities; even “GOD in Heaven and GODs on Earth” will not forgive these wicked men. Giving a piece of land to everyone, even though 2-acres, is the BEST policy to eradicate extreme poverty, rather than forcing them to turn to crime, to rob and to steal and to murder? Do you know, a person at extreme situation are prepared to kill for food, Datuk Manan? Do you know that they toiled the land for basic needs only and not for luxuries. Now you better donate all your wealth to re-shelter them, provide them basic food and clothing and education? Are you happy if you are in their shoe, just to have 15-acres legally, are you willing to work as hard as them to provide food on the table and make a living. Do you realize that what you are doing now is actually creating future extreme criminals and more extreme poor Sabahans?
The fact that they are illegal today, is actually created by the State Government through the Land and Survey and Forest Department itself, and you are the one who made it worst. Search your heart how many small holders in Sabah are given land under the BN’s term with dignity? How many are approved and given to big company, rich men and politicians? Most of the smallholders applied their lands in the 70s and 80s, the Forest Department never bother to tell them they are illegal, is it because at that time they are planting vegetables, fruit trees, which have no great economic value, and subsequently cocoa, for 30-years you never said illegal until oil palm comes in and have great economic value. And after the poor family men and women have squeeze every single cents of their blood money into oil palm plantation, even taking great risk without a proper land title and just began to see a light of better living standard, suddenly you came in and took away all their hope and shattering all their families helter-skelter after toiling for more than 20 to 30-years, and left them extremely poor, hopelessness, miserable, unsheltered, no food, and NOTHINGLESS. Is this what a loving and caring human civilize society should be doing to their poor people? Please search deep into your consciences again and rethink what sorts of injustices you had done.
The big fundamental question you should ask yourself, why for 20 to 30-years these families applying for these land, begging all throughout the years to properly approve and own the land, but the Land and Survey and the forestry never bother to give them a 25-years temporary lease. They have gone through what you call the proper process of getting or applying for land, but among the thousands of applicants how many were given. But I heard very few were given. I really seldom hear news somebody had been given a small piece of land. Under the BERJAYA government, most of the poor men were offered and encourages to own a small piece of land. The BERJAYA government under the smallholder scheme, had surveyed the lands and ready the titles at government expense for tens of thousands of acres of land to be applied by the landless Sabahans. The Berjaya government also Under Felda scheme had allocate and alienated lands to FELDA scheme under the Federal resettlement scheme in Tungku and Kalabakan area to mention a few in the name of the landless Sabahans for oil palm settlement when it was fully developed by the Federal government, but I did not hear landless Sabahan are being offered to be resettle in FELDA in the past 20 to 30-years. I am quite sure if Felda resettlement scheme were offered to landless Sabahans, thousands of these families would not have to force to settled in these what you said Forestry Reserves. I now really cry for them. Instead you approved and gave it to a big company (TIKUS OR GAJAH) based in Centerpoint under Syarikat Warisan Jayamakmur Sdn Bhd. And this company immediately leased it to another company for RM524,000 without investing a single cent to harvest the fruits and do replanting of oil palm not reforestation. What is the reason you gave it to this company and who are behind it? Why are they so special? Are they going for reforestation or planting oil palm? The laughing stock is you, you did not appoint the company for reforestation, but to plant and maintain the oil palms, which what the poor, ‘illegal’ people you chased out were doing in the first place. Come on Manan are you in the name of justice or injustice. Do you believe with you conscience you are doing the right thing? Can you sleep well, knowing that you take from the poor and give it to the rich and powerful? The worst thing is if you have a hand in it, I hope not. Are you doing it in the name of justice and in the name of just GOD? I think you are surely doing it in the name of injustice. I can’t believe it, you are so cruel to the poor people, and the Natural Justice Group is not happy of this unnatural justice, they’ll surely curse you day and night and cry for justice day and night. Can you sleep well? I sure you have nightmare after nightmares until you shatter your heart and come to the light of justice. In the name of Mahatma Ghandi and the loving Mother Theresa who have every sympathy for the poor and the hopelessness and in the name of the true God of natural justice, we ask you to stop it, to stop it now, and immediately give them back all their lands except those who are illegal’s (no documents or fake I.Cs) and compensate them all the things you had illegally confiscated from them before its too late. Let God help you to do the right thing and rewrite the wrong things. Because we believe your action is to after the money, because of the good price in oil palm. And don’t want to get it without any toil and sweat. If you do that you will be cursed by Heaven and Earth. So there is nothing we can do but ask you to search your I would say you after the oil palm rather than the reforestation because of its economic value.
I appeal to all the the State assemblymen and women, if you really want to champion for the poor this is the right time to champion for them. So far only seemed Datuk Joseph Kurup voiced up in the State assembly, but seemed that no other support from other assemblyman from Semporna, Kunak Balung and those who are occupying the land but the forest have not yet come to you. There are lots more. Appeal to the State government to quickly resettle them to oil palm planted Felda scheme, overnight you can settle the poverty level down to ZERO. This is the highest in the country, you can easily, if their is such a will to help the extreme poor, you can do it by not giving what ever nonsense projects in the past (which increased the poor, rather than decreasing poverty rate), but land in Felda or reclassify the Forest Reserve which is already bare and no timbers, but already planted with oil palm, to reclassify as state land and immediately give to the people who applied through the proper process and they will not become rich, but at least can come out of poverty level, and Sabah can become the best state with the lowest poverty level compared to even Penang, just above 0.3%, and the CM and the state government would become overnight the hero of the poverty and the more you give to the poor the more you get, the stronger will be the government and the happiest society. I am quite sure like Mother Theresa, and even Mahatma Ghandi, even though they have no money in their pockets, but they were respected by the poor and helpless, by the kings and the wealthiest, and left a GOOD name forever in the history of world, by doing simple acts of justice for the poor. So what is the use of having a lot of unlimited wealth, but you have no joy and life to enjoy and benefit from it and left a bad name in history. Remember the proverb, any easy comes money, easy goes. That mean whatever you don’t deserve, don’t take it. Misfortunes and disasters seemed to always strike on those who don’t deserve it and those who are insincere.
The smallholders’ sins are small compared to yours. They only occupied in your injustice eyes as illegal, but they showed sincerity to develop the land and they had proved it. However, your SINs are greater because you take from the extreme poor and give to the undeserving extreme rich.
Now your sins are, everyday there are illegal loggings, using chainsaws, tractors and trucks. Logging trucks coming in and out forest reserve everyday, why can’t the same action to burn their properties be done by your department? In the history of illegal loggings, it never happen where their tractors, trucks and illegal campsites were burnt? Yet this is the main priority and responsibility of Forestry Department to protect and look after our virgin forest. Instead of after the real illegal loggers, you chase after the poor whose only guilt was to develop the logged area and now you have red eyes because you saw them harvesting their oil palm now with good economic value, which your department did not bother to reforest for 20 to 30-years. Actually they have no sins at all because they have reforest yours forest with oil palm and fruit trees. YOU SHOULD BE THANKING THEM, INSTEAD OF HARESSING THEM AND BLAMING THEM, AND PUT THEM TO SHAME IN JAIL WITHOUT TRIAL, SOME EVEN JAILED FOR MORE THAN ONE WEEK WITHOUT BEING PUT TO COURT! After taking the land away, now, the difference is other party coming in and harvesting the same oil palm and take the money form them. Is this what you mean and call reforestation. The poor men actually did good by contributed to our nation development, but sadly they were not appreciated for producing crops that earns foreign exchange and pay taxes to the government and the state also taking from them 7.5% when they sell their fruits. I would say their contribution is far more than their sins. How can you do that just in the name of illegal now, which is not applicable anymore because they had proved their genuine desire to own small piece of land and not greedy?
The poor men cannot see them but can hear them, do you want us to tell you where there are real illegal logging activities taking place? Why can’t the government also burn and arrest the real illegal, the tens of thousands illegal squatters along the shorelines? Now the standing of the illegal’s are better than the poor local Sabahans.
I sympathize for them who begged for lands, but now you robbed the poor to help the rich people who are bloodsuckers. I cannot accept this, where is the justice for the poor? They came to me and ask for help, I also personally had gone through what they had. Application after applications and always told wait or file missing.
I would also like to touch on the issue of OPEN SPACE in Tawau (check out blog.limkitsiang) If the Forestry Department could be so powerful, then the State Goverment must be even more powerful. So I ask the state government why don’t you burnt down and arrest the people doing the illegal’s developments at open space? Why wait for the court? Just a simple state action by gazette the all the open spaces and recreational parks would solve all the problems, and yet you are so harsh to the people and yet so extra kind to the developer, Why? You (CM) said you don’t want to see Tawau and other towns to become a rojak town like Keningau and yet they continue to do it for you to see and yet you are not stopping them. Do you need an eyes specialist to check your eyes to correct it to see the right things happenings. I beg the CM to see it again. The people can see it, but you see exactly the opposite what the people see. After you adjust your eyes, we beg you to see the open space again. And now the open space in Tawau continue despite the opposition Lim Kit Siang brought it to parliament and informed Pak Lah of what had happened. About 500 people had skipped lunch to attend to the forum of open space, but viewed this people as trouble makers rather than trying to do some good things for the country. To raise the question whether this country is ruled by law or by the rule of the jungle. Why is the Government always for casing against the productive force who are genuine Sabahans for genuine necessities, but not against the unproductive and destructive force such as the tens and thousands of illegal’s who occupied more prime state lands and pristine seashore like Kudat, but they are given a peaceful settlement? Is Sabahans are sinful people by birth? NJG is waiting and working hard for an answer.
In conclusion I the TIGER feel so deep about this issue, about the smallholders issues, because hundreds of them came to me for justice. They call me day and night and came to me with tearful, miserable and hopeless face, and their extreme hardship, seemed that no one seemed to understand. I am just as an ordinary person, just have a simple heart, simple understanding, felt very sorry for them for their predicament and hopelessness. They appealed to many for more than a year, politicians and countless relevant department including CM and PM, and government bodies to get back their livelihood, spending their last of their limited money, hopes against hope for a miracle to have what they deserve, but seemed to be getting more hopeless then hope. So I offer my sympathy and my best effort to appeal to the State government to give them the land they rightfully deserve. All the people will be happy for them and the government, don’t take away their livelihood please, give them back, they don’t ask for more, just enough for survival, and the government owe the duty to them to give them a decent respectful livelihood. After all they are not asking for a Kancil from you only food. Thank You.
PS
Teresa, don’t be afraid of their shouting and kacau, the poor people are behind you. Infact those YBs who don’t champion for the poor in their areas should be ashame for themselves. What they are doing are increase poverty and not reducing. They only know to kacau amoi and tidak pandai kerja.
Teresa, well done for the poor. continue championing for the poor and condem the greeady and the corrupted. The invisible force of the poor is behind you. You have the force and character of a modern Mother Theresa and the forces of true justice. Don’t give in to the kacau YB, just ignore them totally, dia orang hanya pandai kacau women MP, tapi tidak tau apa-apa tolong rakyat yang susah. They only know how to create poverty, but tidak tau how to reduce poverty by kacau orang yang betul mahu champion for the poor. God Bless You and give you even more courage.
Kasian-kasian sama orang yang termiskin dan susah. Kami syaitan pun tidak berani buat kurang ajar punya hal dan tidak berhati perut. Jangan susah kami akan cari ini orang, take revenge for you. Kami syaitan punya negeri pun tidak mau terima ini macam punya orang yang tidak ada hati punya.
Teresa,
You have done a good job. I was reading the book of Proverbs and this is what it says about the rich oppressing the poor.
Prov 14:31
31 Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who help the poor honor him.
NLT
Prov 22:22-23
22 Don’t take advantage of the poor just because you can; don’t take advantage of those who stand helpless in court. 23 The LORD will argue their case for them and threaten the life of anyone who threatens theirs.
TEV
Prov 29:7
7 A good person knows the rights of the poor, but wicked people cannot understand such things.
TEV