PENAMPANG: A group of 20 villagers from Kampung Kolopis staged a protest on Wednesday against the construction of a proposed underpass and junction, which they claim will displace them from their ancestral lands.
The project, said to be part of the Pan Borneo Highway WP06 package, affects four families through a mandatory land acquisition under Section 3 of the Land Acquisition Act 1960.
The villagers claim they were never consulted and are now being forced to leave the only land they have ever known.
Spokesperson Johnny Joseph said the families were devastated upon receiving eviction notices from the Land and Survey Department.
“We can’t sleep or rest since getting the eviction notice. The government never consulted us. They just came and shoved the plan down our throats,” he said during the protest at the project site.
He questioned the necessity of the new underpass and massive junction, noting that four underpasses already exist within a three-km stretch between Kampung Kambazan and Tindai in Kolopis.
“Worse, we were told this was requested by local residents but none of us were ever informed, let alone asked. And the compensation offered is paltry. It doesn’t even cover the value of our land, much less the homes earmarked for demolition,” Johnny said.
He added that villagers were misled, initially being told it was an underpass project. Later, they found out it was for a large junction requiring even more land acquisition.
“Even if we ‘willingly’ give up the land without vacating our houses, the junction would surround our homes. What kind of life would that be?” he asked.
“This is the only land we have and all my four siblings are now residing here. If the lands are with the houses in it are taken away from us, we will be totally displaced.
“We will have nowhere else to go,” he said with tears in his eyes.
He said the amount of compensation that the land authorities had proposed is also hardly adequate for the land owners to purchase another piece of land let alone to build a house.
It is learnt that this project is not part of the original plan but was later included as Variation Order.
Another affected villager, Lofina Justin, said her land is being taken for the second time and is now frequently flooded since the first acquisition.
“Every time it rains, my home is flooded. This project will only make it worse. Using Section 3 for a project we didn’t even ask for is completely unfair,” she said.
Lofina urged the government to cancel the project, citing unnecessary infrastructure and disproportionate social, cultural and economic costs.
Another villager, Doreen George, expressed frustration that local leadership, including the village head and the Kolopis Task Force, had refused to assist.
“We were left with no choice but to go to the media,” she said, thanking MP Datuk Ewon Benedict for promising to look into their plight.
“We hope the dialogue he suggested will happen soon — it’s our only hope after being ignored by others,” she added.
“Hopefully, the dialogue which he suggested would be conducted soon as it is our only hope after we were rebuffed by some unconcerned parties.” The affected stretch of the Pan Borneo Highway project covers a 5km distance from Penampang-Tambunan main road to Kg Kibuu, near the Inanam district border.