statement of claim

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11. In and around September 1993, without consultation with the Plaintiffs andunknown to them, the 2 nd Defendant issued the said timber licence to the1 st Defendant, of which the licensed areas within the said timber licence, inwhole or in part, encroaches on the said Tana Pengurip or NCR Land ofthe Plaintiffs. Since the issuance of the said timber licence, the 1 stDefendant and/or its contractors, subcontractors, employees, servantsand/or agents have been and are working, trespassing and destroying thesaid Tana Pengurip or NCR Land and its constituents, depriving thePlaintiffs of their main source of livelihood.Timber Licence No. T/041312. Samling Plywood Sdn Bhd’s Re-Entry Hill Logging Timber Licence No.T/0413 was issued by the 2 nd Defendant to the 1 st Defendant to harvestmerchantable timber over a Licenced area measuring about hectares.12.1 The Forest Timber Licence No. T/0413 was issued in September1993 and will expire in August 2018.13. The boundary or extent of the said timber licence in the vicinity of theTana Pengurip or NCR Land of Kampung Ba Jawi overlaps with the TanaPengurip or NCR Land of Kampung Ba Jawi as reflected on the mapmarked “L” and annexed hereto.14. The said timber licence was granted without the permission of thePlaintiffs, who are the rightful owners and/or proprietors and/or Licenseesand/or claimants to/of the said NCR Land.15. The said timber licence was granted for the areas of land which includesand comprised of farmlands and forest reserves used by the Plaintiffs.16. It is an express provision and/or requirement of the said timber licencethat it is granted subject to and/or without prejudice to the Plaintiffs’ rightsincluding the exercise of native customary rights over the licensed area.17. Neither the 1 st Defendant nor the logging contractors had conductedground surveys to identify and establish the boundary of the said NCRland or land claimed by the Plaintiffs that include burial grounds, historicalsites, sacred sites and/or other significant sites in the licensed area.Plaintiffs’ rights impaired18. The grant and/or issuance and/or registration of the said timber licence bythe 2 nd Defendant on the ostensible authority of legislation such as theForest Ordinance is unconstitutional and/or wrongful in so far as it8
abridges or impairs the Plaintiffs’ rights and/or title in or over the said TanaPengurip or ancestral or NCR Land for being the source of the Plaintiffs’livelihood and for their generations to come.18.1 Since time immemorial the ancestors of the Plaintiffs hadestablished and maintained a comprehensive scheme by whichthrough their laws, customs, tradition and practices, havedetermined the questions of ownership, land use management andoccupation of land, forests and rivers within their said TanaPengurip or ancestral or NCR Land.18.2 By their laws, customs, tradition and practices, they were entitled tothe rights of ownership and/or use and/or occupation of the saidTana Pengurip or ancestral or NCR Land and access to all theproducts therein, as well as to the hunting grounds and fishingwaters. The Plaintiffs have exercised the aforesaid rights over thesaid Tana Pengurip or ancestral or NCR Land since timeimmemorial until to this day.18.3 Therefore, the Plaintiffs had prior to the enactment of the saidlegislation, accrued and acquired vested native customary rightsover the said Tana Pengurip or ancestral or NCR Land.18.4 For the reasons aforesaid, the said accrued rights could not be, andwere never lawfully vested in the state government under article 47of the constitution of the state of Sarawak or howsoever, otherwise.18.5 No timber licence, temporary or otherwise, could therefore beissued over the Plaintiffs’ said Tana Pengurip or ancestral or NCRLand.No Extinguishment Of The Plaintiffs’ NCR19. There was no extinguishment of the Plaintiffs’ NCR within the landcovered by the said timber licence before the same were issued and/orgranted to the 1 st Defendant; whereas compensation in accordance withthe Land Code of Sarawak and the Federal Constitution is required to bemade or paid to the Plaintiffs to effect such extinguishment. The issuanceof the said timber licence in such circumstance is therefore unlawful,unconstitutional, and improper and henceforth, their issuance and grantwere null and void.19.1 The said timber licence was issued without the consent of thePlaintiffs, who are the rightful owners and/or proprietors and/or9
Page 1 and 2: “X”MALAYSIAIN THE HIGH COURT OF
Page 3 and 4: ights over the land in Ba Jawi and
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Page 11 and 12: affected land to be earth-filled th
Page 13 and 14: Constitutional Issues31. Further an
Page 15 and 16: 38.2 Such conduct is oppressive, ar
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