15 February 2024
On Today Show
— Tr. Mini Ak Ringkai- Head of Ruan Village, Simunjan – Corporate Land Use in NCR Leaves Villagers Empty-Handed After Harvest
— Nasir Nash, activist from Gua Musang Kelatan –3000 Kelantan Indigenous People Continue to Oppose Dam Construction
— Voon Lee Shan, Lawyer-Politician – Legally, Clare has been treated unfairly
Di Today Show:
- Tr. Mini Ak Ringkai- Ketua Kampung Ruan, Simunjan – Penggunaan Tanah Korporat di NCR Meninggalkan Penduduk Tanpa Apa-apa Selepas Menuai
- Nasir Nash, aktivis dari Gua Musang Kelantan – 3000 Orang Asli Kelantan Terus Menentang Pembinaan Empangan
- Voon Lee Shan, Peguam-Politikus – Secara undang-undang, Clare telah diperlakukan secara tidak adil
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*Special Randau*
1. Residents in 9 Long Houses in Ruan, Simunjan staged a blockade - claiming to have been deceived by Tabung Haji (TH) with the concept of NCR land development cooperation.
2. Aman Palestine CEO Awang Sufian and Aman Palestine executive chairman Abdullah Zaik were accused in court with 52 charges and had bought 131 kg of gold using Aman Palestine funds.
3. The 50th witness of Najib Razak's trial for the case of misuse of power and money laundering of RM2.27 billion 1MDB funds - Jasmine Loo told the court that it was Jho Low's idea to produce a letter of donation from the royal family of Saudi Arabia to former prime minister Najib Razak. When he realized that a lot of 1MDB money went into Najib's account. So the idea arose to produce an Arabic donation letter to Najib to cover the embezzlement.
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Tr. Mini Ak Ringkai- Head of Ruan Village, Simunjan.
*Corporate Land Use in NCR Leaves Villagers Empty-Handed After Harvest*
Tr. Mini reported that 9 longhouses held a blockade for the past 2 weeks to prevent the Semalatong Tabung Haji Plantation Company (TH) from taking palm oil out of the plantation.
About 7 years ago TH opened a palm oil plantation in the area of Kampung Ruan Simunjan (known as Semalatong Farm) with the cooperation of NCR landowners who live in the area. The joint venture was successful with the residents handing over their NCR land and in return they were given shares in the TH company. But after 7 years have passed and after the palm oil has yielded, TH does not share any profit from the farm to the residents.
Residents felt deceived and staged a blockade and demanded that their NCR land be returned and that TH should pay compensation for the damage to the land and the losses they have suffered over the years, as long as their land was handed over to TH.
From the beginning, the residents were suspicious of the joint venture but did not know the right way to fight TH. They are asking for a dialogue, but ignored by TH. It is understood that TH has obtained a court order for the eviction of the residents who held the blockade. It is also understood that lawyer Doinic Ng will meet with the residents later this afternoon.
NCR land development cooperation like what happened in Kampung Ruan is a method that is said to benefit the residents if it is implemented well. The developer was not given a PL as usual but was given a "Development Area". In this case, the residents who own NCR land in those 9 villages own the land. But the other party invited by TH represented them. Further reports will be explained by resident lawyer Dominic Ng.
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Nasir Nash, activist from Gua Musang Kelatan
*3000 Kelantan Indigenous People Continue to Oppose Dam Construction*
Over 3000 individuals Orang Asli community in Gua Musang decided to continue their struggle to protest against the construction of Nengiri Dam.
This is a large scale project in Gua Musang in Nengiri area. The local communities can foresee that this Nengiri dam will cause great impact on their daily livelihoods, losing their lands, and living in chaos . This dam will also cause force eviction, such as those in Kuala Rias, Pos Tohoi, and several other surrounding villages.
There are other villages which are not directly affected, but they will face problem of travelling much longer time. They have to go through alternative route to Gua Musang.
Those affected directly will be relocated to Kuala Panir which belong other territories. This will cause conflict. As it will overlapping of rights.
And it will also causing social economy growth. In which they have to start from scratch
In 2013, the media reported that an 8th-century heritage site in the Bujang Valley, Kedah, was allegedly destroyed by a property development company. The Kedah government at the time denied any knowledge of the demolition. The Nenggiri dam project is expected to commence construction in June 2027, and both the Indigenous peoples' groups and NGOs involved remain undeterred.
Last August, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad stated that although the government would no longer be constructing large hydroelectric dams, the Nenggiri project falls outside federal jurisdiction.
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Voon Lee Shan, Lawyer-Politician
*Legally, Clare has been treated unfairly*
Sarawak Report’s founding editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown has brushed off a Magistrates’ Court ruling sentencing her to two years’ jail for defaming Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah in a book, saying that Malaysia would make a spectacle of itself if it attempted to arrest her.
Voon Lee Shan comment that, the court's judgment was unfair to Clare. Firstly, Clare claimed she was unaware of the situation, and therefore did not appear in court. If this is the case, how can there be a trial?
This trial took place in Malaysia, but Clare herself is not in Malaysia, nor is she Malaysian. She does not recognize Malaysian law. Only if the case is brought to a court in the UK and she is found guilty can she be sentenced. There is no jurisdiction over her.
This is about defamation. If a report is made, the police can investigate, but the court cannot directly decide on guilt.
Voon pointed out that even if Interpol is involved, it is difficult to do anything, as Clare is not Malaysian, and the Malaysian police have no authority to arrest her. Unless the case is moved to a court in the UK.
Regardless, he believes that legally, Clare has been treated unfairly.
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