MAN FIGHTING FOR ANCESTRAL LAND FOR THREE DECADES

Man fighting for ancestral land for three decades

Daim holding the court order and police report.

KOTA KINABALU April 5, 2012: For almost three decades, Lucas Daim has been fighting for his right on an ancestral land at Kampung Limbahau in Papar, where he grew up and raised his family.

Describing the piece of land as “sentimental” to him, Daim disclosed that it was passed on to him and his four other siblings after his father’s demise by the Kota Kinabalu High Court in 1985.

And while he thought life would return to normal, he was shocked to learn that his relatives had ‘hijacked’ the land from them in 2003.

The 83-year-old even claimed that the Land and Survey Department had dared to defy the High Court ruling to grant the two acres land to his siblings and him.

“I finally brought the case to the Sabah State Attorney General in 2010, and he too acknowledged the mistake and advised accordingly in his letter, dated April 4, 2011, to the Land and Survey Department, which was also addressed to our executor, Amanah Raya Berhad.

“But in spite of this, the Land and Survey Department director continued to defy the court order by not correcting the mistake,” said Daim.

Speaking to the Borneo Post recently, Daim disclosed that he had gone to and fro the Land and Survey Department, Amanah Raya Berhad, district office and other relevant authorities to fight for his right, but to date, nothing has been done.

“My daughter had even gone to meet the Land and Survey Department director, which in the end, she only managed to meet up with one of the officers.

“She told me that the officer had informed her that nothing could have been done,” said Daim.

He also disclosed that during his visits to the relevant authorities, he found that some of the documents have been falsified, and that the names on the land title have also been changed to his name and his siblings.

“What sadens me most is that the piece of land is where I grew up, my parents’ graveyard is also nearby. This is where I had lived my whole life and where I raised my family.

Daim had also recently lodged a police report on the matter and hopes to find justice by taking the matter to the court soon.