Boundry and Customary Land Ownership Dispute in Sarawak

Abstract

Customary land ownership dispute have been clearly attributed to three main factors, namely status, ownership validity and the actual area of land owned. Society’s conflict in relation to the matter can be attributed to the way the information is obtained. Most of the customary land owners obtained their land information orally; through word of mouth information.This matter has finally become a major challenge to the community when it comes to various assumptions and different interpretations related to the status and validity of the customary land owned. Hence, this study aims to reveal the feedback from the customary landowners in relation to the determination of the boundaries of the land among the Bidayuh community in Serian District, Sarawak. Besides that, the study also drew attention to the delimitation of the customary land disputes and its implications among the customary landowners. Information related to the purpose of the study was gathered through the focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with the customary landowners in the study area. The study found that there are several ways of defining the boundaries among the landowners. Accordingly, it can be concluded that land disputes in the study area are driven by issues of status and validity of ownership of land owned by customary land owners.To reduce the conflict, it was suggested that the available land are be measured by a qualified surveyor. Thus, when the land was measured, the landowner will obtain a clearer land title in terms of status and ownership of validity.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s3p17