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Extracted from Malaysiakini
Jabu, why was meeting called off?
Tony Thien | Oct 10,
A Dayak-based
non-governmental organisation is not letting Deputy
Chief Minister Alfred Jabu off the hook so easily for
his recent harsh comments about its efforts in protecting Dayak native
customary rights (
They are now taking him to
task for axing an important meeting with local and foreign NGOs at the last
minute.
The Sarawak
Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) is
also questioning Jabu’s reason for defending the
government in the face of numerous complaints, especially from the Dayaks, regarding alleged
It all
started sometime in April when Jabu, who is also the
state rural development minister, ordered the Sarawak Land Consolidation and
Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) of which he is
chairperson, to call off a scheduled briefing on April 22 for a group of
local and foreign NGO representatives at the last minute.
Jabu’s explanation was that the
briefing was meant only for local, not foreign NGO representatives. He also
cited political reasons, saying one of the local NGO officials accompanying the
foreign representatives was a candidate who faced him in the last state
elections and lost his deposit.
Sadia chief Sidi Munan
last week responded to Jabu's statement, saying Salcra had lost a golden opportunity by not meeting with
the foreign NGO representatives as they were in
The meeting, Munan said, would have accorded Salra
a good opportunity to highlight the good work it has been doing to develop
Explain
yourself, sir
One of the local
NGO officials involved, Peter John Jaban, in a
statement today, dared Jabu to reveal the real reason
behind his refusal to allow the state government agency to meet up with the NGO
officials.
Jaban said the deputy chief minister’s cancellation of the briefing at
the last minute, when the officials were already in Salcra
headquarters, had nothing to do with him contesting as a candidate against Jabu.
"When Jabu refused to allow officials of Salcra
to meet us, he should explain the real reasons behind his decision," Jaban said.
He believed
it had more to do with what he (Jaban) tried to
expose during the election campaign period - the involvement of a plantation
company, Durafarm Sdn Bhd, in a land tussle with
One of the
directors and major shareholders in the company is Robert Lawson Chuat, Bukit Sabah state
assemblyperson and Jabu's nephew.
Durafarm, which is controlled by a Sibu-based timber and
plantation company, has more than 6,000 hectares plantation land allocated to
it by the state government.
Jaban said he had documentary evidence to prove this fact and also to
show that two other companies - Zainoon Shipping Sdn Bhd and Biogift
Sdn Bhd of which Jabu’s son Gerald Rentap is
director and major shareholder - have businesses dealing in transportation and fertilisers linked to Salcra.
Salcra is a major
