Credibility and the Social Function of Property: A Saga of Mega-Dams, Eviction, and Privatization, as Told by Displaced Communities in Malaysia

Peter Ho, Bin Md Saman Nor-Hisham and Heng Zhao ()
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Peter Ho: School of Public Affairs, Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Bin Md Saman Nor-Hisham: Department of Town and Regional Planning, Perak Branch, Seri Iskandar Campus, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam 32610, Malaysia
Heng Zhao: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 12 Zhongguancun South St., Beijing 100081, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-28

Abstract: Globally, the forced displacement of socially vulnerable communities causes significant contestation, irrespective of whether that occurs for mega-projects or smaller infrastructural, agricultural, urban renewal, or property developments. Despite multilateral guidelines for “socially inclusive” development, it is difficult to avoid the marginalization of evicted, local communities. Grounded on the credibility thesis, this article provides a new, theoretical basis for understanding the “social function of property” and how this may be used as a criterion to assess whether development-induced and resettlement projects should be given the go-ahead. Methodologically, this article employs the FAT (Formal, Actual, and Targeted) Institutional Framework to unpack the social function of property. To this end, it analyzes the acquisition and privatization of the common property of Indigenous Peoples to construct the Malaysian Bakun Hydroelectric Project, purportedly Asia’s second-largest dam. The FAT analysis ascertains the following three conditions on which basis projects should be halted: (1) the property of the evicted communities fulfills a critical role in providing social welfare; (2) the said function is disregarded by the expropriating agency; (3) the power divides between the expropriator and expropriated prevent meaningful participation by the latter. This study demonstrates that the social function of property can be effectively measured and validates the FAT Framework as a viable tool to analyze development-induced projects (and policies), with particular reference to expropriation, privatization, and formalization.

Keywords: credibility thesis; FAT framework; development-induced displacement and resettlement; customary rights; social security and land grabbing; Indigenous Peoples; shifting cultivation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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