Report of the National Inquiry into the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples 45 for the grant of State land as native title but any grant of native title was not to exceed 100 acres. Significantly, for the first time, the 1913 Proclamation gave power to the Governor to proclaim areas for settlement of native rights. 4.46 In 1922,91 the 1913 Proclamation was amended. A new provision was included such that adverse possession of State land for however long a period would not give rise to any rights against the State. It was further provided that questions of native customs and native succession cases were to be dealt with by the Native Courts and not by the Collector. A further amendment in 1928, introduced the term “native customary rights” in place of “native rights of customary tenure”, and it gave a new definition to customary tenure. 4.47 The latter would now confer on the native holder a permanent, heritable and transferable right of use and occupancy in land as opposed to the previous legislation when that right was conferred only by native title or by a certificate of tenure. This definition of customary tenure continued under the existing Ordinance with some minor amendments.92 The Sabah Land Ordinance 1930 4.48 The legislation that applies in Sabah today is the Land Ordinance No.10 of 1930, which consolidated and revised many of the provisions from earlier legislation.93 From the very beginning of legislation on lands in Sabah, a central thread that ran through each legislation and a principle underpinning the law is the protection of natives’ rights to their lands as well as the recognition that natives practised their own customs and laws. Administrators had to give careful regard to those customs. There was also a very clear emphasis on cultivation of the land such that lands that were not cultivated or unoccupied within a certain period reverted to the Government. Native Customary Land Rights 4.49 Only natives are entitled to lands subject to native customary rights (NCR). These are lands that have no documentary titles but have been occupied by natives under their own customs. Native rights to land in Sabah are defined by section 1594 and if established, they are to be dealt with either by grant of land or by money compensation. The next part will deal with Part IV of the Ordinance, on customary tenure. It will also deal with native claims and other rights that are provided for natives including communal lands and native reserves. 91 Land (Further Amendment) Ordinance 1922 92 Section 65 0f SLO 93 The Ordinance was brought up to date by provisions taken from the Land Code 1926 of the Federated Malay States. In February 1953, the Land (Unification and Amendment) Ordinance was passed and the 1930 Ordinance was made applicable to Labuan and the whole of Sabah. 94 Native customary rights shall be held to be (a) land possessed by customary tenure; (b) land planted with fruit trees, when the number of fruit trees amounts to fifty and upwards to each hectare; (c) isolated fruit trees, and sago, rotan, or other plants of economic value, that the claimant can prove to the satisfaction of the Collector were planted or upkept and regularly enjoyed by him as his personal property; (d) grazing land that the claimant agrees to keep stocked with a sufficient number of cattle or horses to keep down the undergrowth; (e) land that has been cultivated or built on within three years; (f) burial grounds or shrines; (g) usual rights of way for men or animals from rivers, roads, or houses to any or all of the above. chapter 4_a4.indd 45 7/5/13 6:46 PM