Publication

In this paper I explore the interactions between colonial law and native customary law in the formation of contemporary property regimes in a rural village in Sabah, Malaysia, that I call Govuton.(3) Govuton was one of the few known villages in Sabah that rejected colonial policies of land settlement that focused on settling private, individual property claims. instead village lenders negotiated with colonial officials for their village lands to be legally designated as corporately-held village property tinder the title of "Native Reserve." While the Native Reserve served to protect. village access to jointly-held property in the colonial period, in the contemporary period new land disputes are arising as different images of community and tradition are strategically deployed by villagers in order to win struggles over rights of ownership and access to resources in the current political economy By adopting such an historical and site-specific view of the transformation of property rights several broader themes regarding the relationship between state and society and natural resource management emerge. First this case study challenges the idea the colonial governments were a monolithic force imposing laws on an unresisting native population. Second the notion that "the community" is an appropriate unit for natural resource management is questioned And finally, this case study mises the possibility that the current trend toward strengthening or reinvigorating native customary law is nor always in the interests of native peoples with diverse interests in natural resource management.