The politics of native titles in Sarawak

The sad truth when it comes to native titles issue in Sarawak is that Dayak community has been completely led down the garden path by post-independent elected Dayak leaders. Unless the Dayak community accepts this unpalatable truth, the NCR issue in Sarawak will remain ‘unresolved’ for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, expect more forums, symposiums and seminars as the victims confuse themselves with the minute-details of the Land Code while completely missing the point that native titles are essentially a political issue in Sarawak. The policy lesson from the Sarawak case is obvious — like most pressing issues affecting indigenous peoples in Asia, they are prone to political manipulation by the existing elite.

Source : New Mandala by James Chin