End of the road for Sarawak natives in land battle as court rules in favour of developers

A 13-YEAR legal battle by hundreds of Sarawak natives seeking to retain their ancestral land came to an end today after the Federal Court ruled in favour of the state government and oil palm plantation firms.

A five-judge panel led by Chief Justice Raus Sharif ruled unanimously in favour of appeals made by the Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) – a Sarawak government land development agency – its commercial arm Pelita Holdings Sdn Bhd; a joint venture company Tetangga Akrab Pelita (Pantu) Sdn Bhd; and the Sarawak government against a January 2015 Court of Appeal decision which ruled in favour of native landowners.