No More Hope for Sukau Villagers

KOTA KINABALU: The Kampung Sukau people were disappointed with the Federal Court on 21.02.2012 for refusing to invoke their inherent powers under rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules 1995 to set aside a court order obtained by Campo Sdn Bhd to evict them. 


They were represented by Ken Yong, a practising lawyer,outspoken on NCR and land rights and Borneonisation cases, he is also Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Supreme Councillor (picture - second from left) Campo Sdn Bhd whose director is Nasir Yeo, a well known crony of Musa Aman claimed to have purchased the land where Kampung Sukau is located from a group of land applicants (picture - group from Kg Sukau at the KK High Court accompanied by SAPP members). The company then obtained a court order from the High Court to evict the Kampung Sukau people from the land where they have cultivated and lived for more than 20 years. 

However, the Kampung Sukau people discovered later that the land applications by the said group of land applicants had actually been rejected by the Lands and Survey Department. Some of the applicants from the said group had even passed away and their descendants claimed to inherit the 'land applications' as heirs. 

The sale and purchase agreements entered into between the original applicants or heirs and Campo Sdn Bhd stated that Campo Sdn Bhd bought their 'land applications' and not the title. It was also discovered that the so-called heirs did not even apply from the Syariah Court for letters of administration to claim their inheritance over the 'land applications'. 

With all the questionable facts happening in the case, the Kampung Sukau people who entered the land with the permission and knowledge of the assistant collector of the Kinabatangan land office after applying for the land from the State Government believed that the company managed to get hold of the title and claimed ownership because of the political abuse of Nasir Yeo and the Sabah State Government. 

The land has been charged to banks for millions of ringgit and some tycoons have now lodged a caveat over the Kampung Sukau land presumably in the process of transferring the said land from Campo Sdn Bhd to them