Iban NCR landowners perform ritual seeking divine help in Federal Court hearing on their rights over their hunting and gathering grounds
KUCHING: Native landowners performed the ‘sandau ari’ miring, an Iban ritual rarely performed these days to invoke the spirits to help them before they go to war, at the car park of the Courthouse here yesterday.
However, they were not going to war with spears and machetes during the Federal Court sitting yesterday afternoon. They were fighting against an appeal by the state government against the Court of Appeal’s decision on June 21, 2013, that recognised ‘pemakai menoa’ and ‘pulau galau’ as native customary rights (NCR) land.
The NCR land owners were supported by hundreds of natives, who went to the Courthouse by buses and own transport.
The jury is still out on the effectiveness of the ‘sandau ari’, which required the `manang’ (high priest) to place seven human skulls and other paraphernalia at the car park when performing the ritual, as the Federal Court reserved its decision on the appeal.
Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif, who chaired the hearing, said the decision would be delivered on a date to be fixed later.
Md Raus made this ruling after hearing submissions by state legal advisor Datuk JC Fong, representing the applicant, and from Baru Bian and Dr Yogeswaran Subramaniam, representing respondents Tuai Rumah Sandah Sabau of Rumah Sandah in Ulu Machan, Kanowit, and eight other NCR landowners.
Other judges who sat with Mid Raus were Tan Sri Abdull Hamid Embong, Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, Tan Sri Zainun Ali and Tan Sri Abu Samah Nordin.
Baru said the stake of the hearing was high as the decision, whichever way it goes, would affect more than 100 similar cases pending in Sarawak and future NCR land cases in the country.
“If we can win ‘pemakai menoa’ and ‘pulau galau’ as a method of creating NCR, then that would be a bigger area. They (applicant) are trying to limit us to ‘temuda’.
“If we lose this case, that means we cannot have NCR beyond ‘temuda’ as ‘pemakai menoa’ and ‘pulau galau’ will no more be NCR,” said Baru.-Borneo Post
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