A Malaysian is bringing attention to a possible double standard in regards to alleged trespassing.
Taking to his Facebook page, entrepreneur and content creator, Khairul Jamain, shared how he was allegedly treated like a criminal when he had accidentally encroached on someone else’s land when attempting to build a road towards his own piece of land in Negeri Sembilan.
He wrote this as a comparison to the treatment received by the illegal durian farmers in Pahang.
He wrote, “I’m not an important person. I’m not a politician. I’m just an ordinary citizen. I respect Malaysian laws, but I want to question this enforcement that was not done fairly.”
“Regarding the issue of land encroachment and unfair treatment, when the issue in Dengkil and Raub had gone viral, I felt very disappointed because the treatment given (to the illegal farmers) is very different from my case with my friend, who is an excavator owner, where we only wanted to make a road to my land.”
When it all started
This incident started in February 2025, when he wanted to start building a road towards the land he had purchased in Negeri Sembilan in 2024.
“My only wish was to build a road to the land that I bought, with the help of a friend who owns an excavator. The land is located by a river and to get to the land, I needed to build an access road of about 150 meters, through the river reserve area,” he said, adding that he had gotten the permission of a village head to build the road as long as they didn’t encroach on other people’s land.
He acknowledged that he did not reach out to the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS) despite the river reserve being under their jurisdiction, but pointed out that the villagers of the area had no problems with the construction of the road.
However, on the 3rd day of the road construction, a woman suddenly appeared.
“On the 3rd day, a Chinese woman came, claiming to be the owner of the land next to the river reserve. She was angry and claimed that we were encroaching on her land. She showed the boundary. We did not enter anyone’s land but the woman was still not satisfied,”
“She said that the river reserve also belonged to her, because she had planted trees there. She immediately filed a police report and a report to the land office. That evening at around 5pm, several land officers came with several police officers and stopped the excavation work and wanted to seize the excavator,” Khairul explained.
He added that the authorities apparently did not have any warrants to stop the work or seize the excavator, though they carried on with their stop and seizure based on “an order from the higher ups“. They also informed that a compound will be imposed on both Khairul and the excavator owner.
The owner of the excavator was left distraught as it was the only one he had, which he used to earn a livelihood for himself and his family.
Despite their efforts, they did not get the excavator back
It has been months since this incident, and the excavator has yet to be returned to the owner. Instead, they received something else.
“We remained calm. We did not make this issue viral. We did not call any YBs. We did not seek publicity. We followed the right channels. But, after a few weeks, we received a letter.”
The letter stated that they were being charged under Section 426(5) of the National Land Code as well as Section 425 for trespassing on government land and not cooperating with the authorities, which carries a fine of not more than RM500,000, a prison sentence of not more than 5 years, or both if convicted.
“I really don’t understand. It’s such a contrast to what is happening in Dengkil and Raub. Is this because of favouritism? We didn’t plant durian trees and enjoyed the produce for 30 years. We just wanted to build a road to our own land. In fact, I spent my own money to build the road,”
“What’s more sad is that until now, the official application I sent to JPS and the land office has not been answered. We are waiting, we are being patient. But, until when will we have to wait? Until when will we be treated like criminals? What’s the difference between me and the Chinese woman who filed the report? Imagine how easy it was to ‘process’ her complaint so quickly. She filed a report in the afternoon, and the officers arrived in the evening.”
He hopes that his post will help garner moral support as this incident has left his friend, who owns the excavator that was seized, without a livelihood. He also hopes for a more just treatment from the authorities.
WORLD OF BUZZ has reached out to JPS for comment but has yet to hear back.
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