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SAHABAT ALAM
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH,
21, Lintang Delima 15, 11600
Tel : (6) 04 - 6596930 Fax : (6)
04 - 6596931
PRESS
STATEMENT
Latest
update: Penan blockades in Middle and
SAM would like to call the
attention of the Malaysian Government, both at the Federal and
It is important to note that such
blockades have indeed been a regular feature in the communities' struggle to
protect their ancestral domains. All the communities involved have built such
barricades within their traditional territories numerous times over the last
two decades, in spite of hostile reactions from timber companies and the
authorities.
The Penan communities have been
appealing to the authorities to recognize their claims to their native
customary lands and have demanded that they have to be protected. Consequently,
they appeal for all logging activities to cease.
The people's persistence at a time
when the logging industry is already faced with the reality of the depletion in
timber resources and is fast turning into oil palm and pulp and paper ventures
only goes to show that the Sarawak and Federal Governments must not continue to
ignore the many grievances surrounding Native Customary Rights issues in
Sarawak and the way logging operations are conducted in Sarawak.
We therefore would like to
reiterate that until the rights of the people are recognised in their entirety
and active steps are taken to secure these rights via the gazetting of the
people's traditional territories into Communal Forests as provided for
by the Sarawak Forests Ordinance, the
Apoh
region, Middle Baram
A blockade was re-erected on June
2 by some fifty villagers from Long Belok and Long Sayan to prevent Rimbunan
Hijau from entering and extracting timbers within the people's communal forest
reserves in the upper reaches of the
Representatives of the Penan
communities in Apoh and Tutoh have expressed their grave concern to SAM that
their rights will continue to be disrespected and called the authorities to
look into their complaints seriously.
It is reported that around ten
people are taking turn to guard the blockade site each day in order to sustain
food supply for the blockaders as well as to ensure that hunting, fishing and
farming activities for all the families involved will go on uninterrupted.
Another new blockade has been
erected by Penans in Long Nen, Sungai Layun together with Penan Nomadic from
Sungai Marong, upper Tutoh. The blockade was erected on
According to the group leader of
the nomadic Penans, Raja Jemali, from Sungai Marong, the community decided to
join the group in Long Nen because they cannot withstand the company’s pressures on their own in in Sungai
Marong.
Meanwhile, the protest against the
controversial road-building by another logging company, Samling, in upper Baram
is reportedly still holding on.
Blockades by the Penan communities
in the upper reaches of the Baram have been set up at different sites in the
area for the last 14 years. This area is regarded to be one of the last
remaining primary forests in
We learnt that on July 4, the
barricades were once again destroyed by the authorities. However on July 13, a
new blockade was already set up in a show of inter-community solidarity by
villagers from Long Benalih and their neighbours Long Pengaran Iman, Long
Pengaran Kerian, Long Kepang and Ba' Lai.
The continuous dismantling and
rebuilding of the blockades have received much attention in recent years,
particularly after the concession's inclusion into the controversial Malaysian
Timber Certification Council (MTCC) scheme, whose legal and sustainable claims
have been questioned by national and international civil society groups.
In the past, the Long Benalih
village often had to bear the brunt of being insinuated as the sole village
protesting against timber activities in the area, at the expense of other
villages.
The blockaders have been accused
of causing shortages in food, gas and other essential supplies to villages like
Long Lellang, when in fact there are other access roads from such villages to
as far as Miri, which have fallen in a state of disrepair after companies which
maintained them ceased operations in their allocated zones. The ‘community
welfare’ argument used to justify the road building is indeed ironic when
existing routes are left without any further maintenance after companies cease
their operations in a given concession and move to new locations.
With the joint action of several
villagers to rebuild what must be the longest serving non-violent protest in
Malaysian history, the collective community opposition against the logging
encroachment into their traditional territories is clear for all to see.
Unfortunately the road
construction today is getting deeper inland and is now only about 2 km away from
Benalih. However its adverse environmental impacts, in particular water
pollution, are currently being impacted upon other neighbouring Penan villages
as well, including Long Pengaran Iman and Long Pengaran Kerian.
It was reported the on-going road
construction is guarded by the General Forces Team (Pasukan Gerak Am) from
Miri. The team was said to have built their temporary camp not far from the
current blockade site.
Then in mid-July, the Benalih
Blockade was reportedly dismantled again by timber company workers, together
with the General Forces Team. The people were warned that they would be
arrested if they continue with the blockade.
In view of the above, SAM once
again calls on the Federal and State Government to respect the rights of the
Penans and ensure that the timber companies cease operations in their native
territories.
-sgd-
S.M.Mohamed Idris
President