Tajem Urges Govt of the Day to REVIEW Native Law
Sarawak Dayak National Union former president and one of PKR Sarawak advisors Daniel Tajem has called for a committee to revamp native laws to be codified into a proper system of edicts.
He suggested that the committee should comprise officials from SDNU, Sarawak Dayak Iban Association, Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association, Tun Jugah Foundation, Dayak Cultural Foundation, other Dayak NGOs as well as those from the Sarawak Council of Native Laws and the Dayak Chair of the University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
“Something must be done now to upgrade our native laws, so that the setting up of the committee is not only fitting, but timely,” he said.
He was commenting on a suggestion made by Chief Judge of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjun who said that the current set of native laws should be “refurbished” so that they could keep up with the times and modernization.
Customs, usage and practice
Tajem who is a lawyer and former Sarawak DCM said: “Dayak Adat (laws) are based on customs, usage and practice.
“The system of native laws and family laws has been written by the Sarawak Council of Native Laws, but there are still some of them (laws) that have not been included in the Dayak Adat,” he said.
“If the native laws are not upgraded, reviewed or developed, they may not be respected by those who are strangers to the system and their non-recognition will lead to disrespect and exploitation through misreading of the customs,” he said.
Malanjun in his remarks last week had also said that the native courts in Sabah and Sarawak are still active today.
Agreeing with Malanjun, Tajem expressed concern that the government of today had disregarded the native customs such as the native customary rights over land, the rights of inheritance and succession, family laws, and so on.
He said that “It is the duty of the government of the day to protect and safeguard the native laws.
Tajem quoted a number of examples such as grabbing of the NCR land and leasing them to big business concerns for the planting oil palm that ignored native law and customs.
“They do not respect the decisions of the Court which recognises the rights of the natives over land, pemakai menua, pulau galau and temuda,” he added.
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“Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban” Bukit Tungal.com
- November 30th
Come on Tajem…….!!!, you have isolated yourself from the mainstream of political struggle all this while. We Dayaks needs your credibility and experience to refurbish the native laws for our futures well-being. Time and tide is catching on us, your legacy will be forgotten if you dont play a significant role to revolutionise the welfare of the dyaks.
Personally, I like Datuk Daneil. He is really fighting for the Iban`s cause. Jabu on the hand is helping the Penans, not bad. However, I can`t read Masing`s mind when he said ” We thought only of Dayak, Dayak and Dayak. I was born in their atmosphere, I grew up in that culture. ” For Datuk Mawan, I do not know his personal agenda when he left SNAP and formed SPDP.
Anyway, can four of you work together to review native law as suggested by Datuk Daneil? We like to see all of you to regroup when comes to fight for Iban`s interest.
Nyampau! Sarawak native communities have been suffering from the operation of logging and plantation and dam building activities on their NCR land. They were evicted, their crops were destroyed. They blamed the state government which has breached its fiduciary to protect them.
It is right time now to review a native law that gives the native rights over their ancestral land in accordance with customs and adat. Make an amendment to the native law to override the existing Sarawak`s land laws that criminalising the indigenous people to take forest products, by introducing a new provision to legalise them to utilise on NCR land (temuda, pemakai menoa, pulau galau).
Dear friends,
Datuk Daniel Tajem suddenly became interested in urging the government of the day to review the native laws after the chief judge of the high court of sabah and sarawak RICHARD MALANJUN had spoken on refurbishing the native laws in keeping with time. That is very noble of Datuk Daniel Tajem. But why only now, he is calling for the review when he had all the chances of doing so all these years, especially when he was a Deputy Chief Minister. Is he trying to redeem himself for his past failure to do so?
As a lawyer or retired lawyer and an adviser to PKR, I would expect him to take the challenge himself, of drafting a new Land Code for the benefits of all races in Sarawak and present it to the government of the day for its approval.
If not for that, use the project as an advice to PKR Sarawak in mounting its election campaign against the BN using the drafted new Land Code as a potent weapon.
He should not push the responsibility of reviewing the native laws to others. He should redeem himself.
I can only wish him well and success, even if he is not taking up the challenge doing it himself, as Karpal Singh is doing in Semananjung Malaysia.
“The easy way may not be the best way”.
God bless everyone.
Dear friends,
1. I am really confused on the following:
(a). Datuk Daniel Tajem mentioned there are still some of them( laws) that have not been included in the dayak adat . I wonder what these adat are? My guess is, there are land adat. What I understand is the land laws can be found at Land Code 1958.
(b). The writer also said that Tajem quoted a number of examples such as grabbing of NCR land and leasing them to big business concerns for the planting oil palm that ignored native laws and customs. They do not respect the decisions of the court which recognises the rights of the natives over land, pemakai menua, pulau galau, and temuda.
2. Can someone explain or the writer elaborate, what are the some laws that had not been included in dayak adat.
3. How could they (who are they?) grabbed the lands if the lands are not theirs? If the lands belong to the dayaks, why didn’t the dayaks employ a lawyer to fight for them? Why didn’t dayak-lawyers come forward to help, especially if they are politicians?
I have read in the book, “The Natives of Sarawak” by Evelyen Hong , on the dayak adat and land issues. Among others, according to the adat, the dayaks could not sell or buy native lands. They could only use the lands. If they moved from one longhouse to another or from one river to another, they would lose the right to use the land that they had cultivated earlier. Is this part of the adat that have been not included in the dayak adat book?
Since dayaks had been in the State Government as far back as I can remember, the dayak political leaders, including the first and second Chief Minister, at least three Deputy Chief Ministers and several Ministers and many more Assistant Ministers had been there in the State Cabinet of Sarawak for the dayaks, including Datuk Daniel Tajem.
It just makes sense to me that THEY could grab the lands from the dayaks, if the lands really belong to the dayaks.
May God protect the lands of dayaks. May good lawyers come forward and fight for the dayaks who lost their lands unjustly.