Table of Contents
The Sarawak government’s strategy for economic growth through commercial development of agricultural land has resulted in vast areas of land being opened for large-scale plantations, including oil palm. In some places this has affected lands subject to ‘native customary rights’ (Sarawak Government 1997). When such rights are established over a tract of Interior Area Land, it becomes Native Customary Land. The latest type of development scheme, often dubbed Konsep Baru (New Concept), is one that uses the concept of fiduciary trust in the formation of joint ventures between native landowners, the government and large corporations.
This chapter examines native customary rights under existing legislation and the development strategy applied to Native Customary Land. It traces the chronology of past strategies and the culmination of those experiments in the joint venture concept. Are there any strengths in those strategies that may be built on or indeed be revisited? The evolution and rationale of a trust, and the nature of interests under a trust, are examined in the light of its suitability for the development of Native Customary Land in Sarawak. The duties of trustees and the fiduciary relationship are considered in order to ascertain the distribution of rights and possible remedies in the event of the trustees’ breaches of duty. The chapter argues that, while the trust is a novel concept, the specifics of native customary rights in Sarawak may require further safeguards to be put in place to protect such rights.