Wednesday July 16, 2008

Longhouse folks told to move

By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: It is inhumane to evict rural folks whose homes and land had been taken over by timber and oil palm companies for logging and plantation development, former Baram MP Harrison Ngau said.

Harrison, who is a lawyer, has appealed to the state to have mercy on 400 natives from a rural longhouse.

These folks, from Rumah PeeMillo, Sungai Sebalayau, in the Suai sub-district, were directed to vacate their longhouse via eviction notices issued by the Miri Land and Survey Department on June 25.

They were notified that the state had issued a provisional lease to an oil palm plantation giant to open up a 2,000 hectares plantation in Suai.

Tuai Rumah (headman) Millo anak Datu had filed a lawsuit against the company, saying the residents had native customary rights over their ancestral land.

On July 3, women and children and old folks from his longhouse slept outside the Miri District Office to highlight their plight.

They also appealed to Miri Resident Ose Murang for help.

Harrison, Murang, Miri Police Chief Asst Comm Jamaluddin Ibrahim, Millo and an officer from the Land and Survey department held a meeting and decided to forward the matter to state cabinet ministers.

“The Miri Resident will help forward the appeal to the state ministers to help resolve the situation.

“The affected folks will be allowed to continue staying at the longhouse pending a decision from Kuching.

Millo said the majority of the longhouse population are subsistence farmers whose families had been living them for about four decades.