PROTEST.....Group
of villagers led by Nalatan holding placards in protest against land abuse. Datuk
Chua Soon Bui is seen at the back.
KOTA KINABALU: Instead of
enjoying the wealth of toiling on the soil in Kampung Serudong Laut, Tawau, the
villagers there are instead faced with a dilemma after discovering that they
are not the owners of the land.
What saddens the villagers
most was that the land they worked so hard on to eke out a meagre living are
supposed to be theirs based on Native Customary Right (NCR).
They brought their plight to
the attention of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Vice President cum Tawau Member
of Parliament Datuk Chua Soon Bui who assured them of her assistance to get to
the bottom of the matter.
According to the villager’s
representative, Nalatan Simpoh, villagers of Murut descent will be coming to
the state capital to attend the party’s celebration of the Sabah’s 49th
Independence day celebration.
“Our presence at the
celebration reflects our support to SAPP’s contention that Sabah’s independence
is 49 years,” Nalatan said adding that they are grateful to SAPP for taking
them under its wing.
The group is expected to
arrive in the state capital on the eve of the celebration, Aug 30, he said.
Nalatan pointed out that
that the villagers are sad to have lost their land and they do not want to lose
Sabah’s history too.
“It is not right for the
Government to say that we are celebrating 55 years of independence… we all know
that Sabah was granted independence by the British in 1963, not 1957,” he
stressed.
The Government, he added
should set the record straight so as not to confuse the younger generation as
to Sabah’s history.
No comments:
Post a Comment