Forest Dept to probe alleged encroachment
KUCHING: The Forest Department will deploy a team to an area near Sungai Matahari Besar in Igan, Sibu to probe encroachment by locals as alleged by a plantation company.
A spokesperson said yesterday the department needs to further investigate the complaint by the company to ascertain its veracity.
“Some areas might have been given NCR (native customary rights) status. Therefore, Forest Department staff will fly over the area and investigate the case in detail,” the spokesperson told The Borneo Post.
Last week, the company that owns that particular piece of land sought the intervention of relevant authorities against alleged encroachment by locals onto the said land.
The locals – who cleared the surface of the land and felled timber for the purpose of farming – are from longhouses in the nearby Pasin area.
The land is supposed to be a conservation area and is part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) to preserve the environment. Staff from the company had interviewed some of the locals, who said the land belonged to ‘ many people’, including longhouse chief, and that it was where they foraged for food and hunted.
They also said they cleared the land to plant cash crops like oil palm, pineapples and corn.
Some areas might have been given NCR (native customary rights) status. Therefore, Forest Department staff will fly over the area and investigate the case in detail. Forest Department spokesperson