Twelve Sarawakians from the Iban community in Pantu, Sri Aman who brought a civil action against the Sarawak government 12 years ago over a Native Customary Rights (NCR) land dispute lost their case today at the Federal Court.

The apex court allowed the government's appeal after the High Court and Court of Appeal ruled in the Iban community’s favour in 2011 and 2014 respectively.

According to the plantiffs' lawyer Dominique Ng, the said property in question which measures about 600ha was granted NCR status in 1954.

Ng, who appeared with lawyer and former Sarawak deputy chief minister Daniel Tajem, said so far the indigenous communities in Sarawak have lost three cases, including this one.

He added that they had the strongest chance of winning this case because the land had been gazetted as NCR land...