Raja Sundra, Radia and Christopher at the press conference yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: A woman who claims to be rightful administrator for the Karambunai land wants the State Government to recognise her rights and powers to administer the land.
Radia Suhaili claims that she is the rightful administrator of the Karambunai land due to her royal lineage, which dates back to the 1800’s citing that she is the descendant of a Brunei royalty, Pengiran Abdul Rauf.
Radia, who is also executive chairman of Karambunai Land Holdings Sdn Bhd, revealed that she had written three letters to the Sabah State Government, with copies to the Chief Minister and the Foreign Office of England.
However, she said she has yet to receive any response.
Her claim to the said land is centred on the court orders and the historical chronology on land ownership based on Ancestral Monarchy Land and documents obtained from the Brunei Darussalam Archive Office and the National Archives in London.
Despite all this, there have been third parties submitting subdivision plans on the land despite her legitimate claim.
“We want to resolve this issue and stop our state from being a scam centre. We also seek the State Government and relevant departments to help restore our rights, which has been enshrined in the Sabah State Constitution,” Radia said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Radia said she wants to exercise her rights as the administrator to prevent all these scams from continuing.
She claimed that the public had always been given a wrong impression on the Karambunai land and its actual owner and this misunderstanding has led to the propagating of many scams.
It is understood that the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak has already resealed the Letters of Administration to the named administrator under the Probate Court of Brunei Darussalam.
“The said documents have been sent to the respective government departments as to the registration of the named administrator and until today, no response has been given as to the delay in carrying out the court’s order.
“All sorts of actions are still being initiated on the land title even though objections have been lodged with the Land and Survey office.
“Even the newspapers have highlighted the issues of attempted land scams but some government departments seemed oblivious to the matter as they continue to process such scams,” Radia said.
She said Karambunai is ancestral land with a perpetual grant (geran mati – a grant that is untransferable) and that it still belongs to her aunt, Pengiran Siti Fatimah.
Radia as the land administrator, has given the rights to Karambunai Land Holding Sdn Bhd to manage and to do whatever is necessary to play her role in a professional manner.
Also present at the press conference were Karambunai Land Holdings Sdn Bhd’s project, property management and valuation director, Sr. Raja Sundra Lingam @ Sunny Kelvin, and CEO, director of finance and human resource, Christopher Chan.