Source: The Star Online
Monday October 6, 2008
A neglected people
THE Penan’s protracted resistance to deforestation and the international attention the tribe continues to receive must have irked the Sarawak government.
The state government continues to dismiss their concerns over the loss of forest resources brought on by industrial logging that degrades the forest and pollutes the rivers.
At the height of the international anti-tropical timber campaign in the late 1980s, the state set up a Penan Affairs Committee to help the nomadic tribe to lead a settled life with promises of socio-economic development. The state announced allocations worth millions of ringgit.
Two decades later, the benefits remain elusive for many Penans. The rapid expansion of acacia and oil palm plantations eats into their ancestral land. To top it off, the natives are becoming illegals with many not having official documents.
The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has raised the issue of poor MyKad registration which complicates the issuance of birth certificates.
Suhakam has thus far failed in persuading the state government to resolve the land rights issue inflicting every native group in Sarawak.
In recent years, the Penans are turning to the court of law to stop further encroachment.
But the nomadic Penans face a tough battle in claiming native customary rights (NCR) as the Sarawak Land Code 1958 states that one cannot stake a claim for NCR if one had not cultivated that piece of land before Jan 1, 1958.
In May 2007, further restrictions were imposed when the clause “any other lawful method of establishing land claim” in Section 5(2) was dropped. Lawyers had previously used that provision to argue for a broader interpretation of land use.
“When environmental groups suggest setting aside forests for wildlife, the state will agree but when we demand for our forests to be protected, we are ignored. It seems that the wildlife living in the forests are more valued than us humans,” notes a young Penan.
Although disillusioned, the Penans remain hopeful.
As Balan Jon of Long Item puts it: “It’s not only our livelihood but our culture and survi val as a tribe has been affected for so long. We’ll die if we continue to be neglected.”
Showing posts with label Abuse of Indigenous People. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abuse of Indigenous People. Show all posts
Monday, October 6, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Ongoing Harassment and Abuse of Sarawak Natives
This is how the Politics of Development championed by Taib Mahmud and Sarawak Barisan Nasional Government works.
As reported in The Star Online:
Friday October 3, 2008
Eviction of 10,000 residents ‘put on hold’
MIRI: The 10,000 residents who have been evicted from their centruty-old villages in northern Sarawak have been given a reprieve for Hari Raya.
The Sept 29 deadline for the residents of the 13 Kedayan-Malay villages in Bekenu district came but there were no bulldozers in sight to demolish their homes.
They had been asked to move out of the land that had been leased out to a Miri property developer for an oil-palm plantation and had sought the help of Sibuti MP Ahmad Lai Bujang.
Ahmad told The Star yesterday that the villagers had been living on the edge, worrying when their homes would be bulldozed.
“Luckily, the Hari Raya proved to be a reprieve. I did not see any Land and Survey Department enforcement teams or workers from the private company attempting to demolish any houses.
“The eviction has been put on hold, it seems. However, I worry what will happen after the Hari Raya.
“The issue has generated a lot of publicity. The dispute is over a big area.
“The villagers have been living there for many generations and yet the company has staked a claim as the rightful owner.
“This is turning into a big dilemma because the developer’s lawyer has issued a letter saying that the villagers are illegal squatters,” he said.
The villages are located some 40km south of here, along the Sarawak Second Coastal Highway near the Miri-Bintulu divisional boundary.
On Sept 27, the desperate villagers staged a public demonstration along the highway to garner attention to their plight.
Asked whether the villagers would get an injunction against the eviction order, Ahmad said they were looking at all avenues.
“They are appealing to the Government first before resorting to any court action,” he said.
Ahmad said that the villagers have a strong claim to the land, as they had been living there continously since 1910 and have native land rights by virtue of their ancestral background.
The Kedayan-Malays are direct descendents of the Brunei Malay and migrated to Sarawak during the British colonial era.
As reported in The Star Online:
Friday October 3, 2008
Eviction of 10,000 residents ‘put on hold’
MIRI: The 10,000 residents who have been evicted from their centruty-old villages in northern Sarawak have been given a reprieve for Hari Raya.
The Sept 29 deadline for the residents of the 13 Kedayan-Malay villages in Bekenu district came but there were no bulldozers in sight to demolish their homes.
They had been asked to move out of the land that had been leased out to a Miri property developer for an oil-palm plantation and had sought the help of Sibuti MP Ahmad Lai Bujang.
Ahmad told The Star yesterday that the villagers had been living on the edge, worrying when their homes would be bulldozed.
“Luckily, the Hari Raya proved to be a reprieve. I did not see any Land and Survey Department enforcement teams or workers from the private company attempting to demolish any houses.
“The eviction has been put on hold, it seems. However, I worry what will happen after the Hari Raya.
“The issue has generated a lot of publicity. The dispute is over a big area.
“The villagers have been living there for many generations and yet the company has staked a claim as the rightful owner.
“This is turning into a big dilemma because the developer’s lawyer has issued a letter saying that the villagers are illegal squatters,” he said.
The villages are located some 40km south of here, along the Sarawak Second Coastal Highway near the Miri-Bintulu divisional boundary.
On Sept 27, the desperate villagers staged a public demonstration along the highway to garner attention to their plight.
Asked whether the villagers would get an injunction against the eviction order, Ahmad said they were looking at all avenues.
“They are appealing to the Government first before resorting to any court action,” he said.
Ahmad said that the villagers have a strong claim to the land, as they had been living there continously since 1910 and have native land rights by virtue of their ancestral background.
The Kedayan-Malays are direct descendents of the Brunei Malay and migrated to Sarawak during the British colonial era.
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