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Extracted from
Malaysiakini
Cops: No crime element in Penan chief's death
Fauwaz
Abdul Aziz | Jan 11,
The police have yet to discover a criminal element behind the
death of Penan leader Kelesau Naan in
“Investigations are still ongoing, but as of now, we see no element of crime in
this case,” said investigating officer Inspector Sumarno Lamundi when contacted
recently.
He was responding to speculations that the Long Kerong village chief could have
been killed because of his anti-logging activities.
Kelesau had gone missing on Oct 23 last year after telling his wife, Uding
Lidem, that he was going to check on an animal trap he had set near their hut -
situated near the Sungai Segita river about two hours walk from their Long
Kerong long-house.
Failing to locate
Kelesau despite the use of tracker dogs, the villagers feared that their
headman had died.
On Dec 17, the villagers discovered
Kelesau’s skull and the bones of his thighs, ribs and hands which suddenly
surfaced near Sungai Segita.
Family
members and many Long Kerong villagers insist that Kelesau - who was among the
leading figures in the upper Baram Penan communities to oppose logging - had
been murdered.
His nephew had alleged that the village chief’s hand was broken, indicating
that he had been assaulted.
‘Sudden
death’
Kelesau’s son Nick, who lodged a report with the Marudi police station over the
incident, lamented that the police are not serious about the ‘murder’
possibility.
“I was told that my late father’s bones will not likely be dug up (for a
post-mortem) and that his case was probably that of ‘sudden death’,” he said.
However, Nick remains unconvinced. He said the week-long search for his father
following his disappearance had covered the very place where his bones were
later found.
“If he had not been taken and killed but died naturally or after an encounter
with a wild animal, why had we not come across his remains during the (earlier)
search?” he asked.
While the spate of reports by the foreign media and human rights groups on the
case suggest a link between Kelesau’s death and the logging issue, another
conjecture has been that Kelesau, who was nearing 80, had merely suffered a
serious fall and died as a result of this.
“The last time I saw him was more than a year ago, and even by that time the
old man could hardly walk,” said one timber industry representative who
declined to be identified.
Inter-tribal
differences
Another possibility is
that Kelesau’s death was the result of inter-tribal differences that had arisen
over the anti-logging resistance.
It was the Penan, Kayan and Kelabit communities who first rose up against the
wave of loggers and set up road barricades in 1987.
In the 1990s,
the Penans of Long Sayan and Long Benalih, among others, set up more barriers
to block logging tracks near their villages as resistance spread throughout the
districts of Baram,
However, in face of logging companies’ overwhelming power and influence, the
resistance among some indigenous groups died down. Many also believed in the
promises of development extended to them by the government.
While some communities had their blockades removed, others were persuaded to
enter into agreements and negotiations with the logging companies.
There is little resistance now remaining in lower Baram. The Penan communities
of upper Baram, however, continued the fight.
Among them, Long Kerong villagers - with Kelesau in the front-line - felt they
had most to lose if they yielded to loggers because Long Kerong leads into the
last track of non-logged areas of the Sela’an Suling Permanent Forest Estate (
When loggers made moves into their rainforests in 1996-1997, the barricades
Long Kerong had set up so effectively kept out the loggers that state force was
used to end it.
Uneasy
stalemate
An uneasy stalemate ensued, during which time no significant advances were made
by the logging companies. In 1998, Kelesau and three other village chiefs lent
their names to a major Penan land rights claim. The suit is still pending at
the Miri High Court.
In recent years, however, there have been moves that Penan villagers believe
signal an attempt by loggers to drive eastwards again into the rainforests.
Media reports emerged with claims that certain communities, including some
Penans, had grown tired of the long wait for development.
The Kelabit community
of Long Lellang, in particular, were said to be complaining that the only road
that had linked them to the outside world had grown into disuse after loggers
abandoned the nearby concession area.
It was thus proposed that another road be built, starting at Long Benalih,
which would link about a dozen villages in the
In 2004, the
Sensing the push by loggers was starting up again, the Benalih and other Penans
set up more barriers
to prevent the construction of the proposed road - which they believe is merely
to give logging workers easier access to the forests.
The blockades
were met by stern warnings
by the
In the midst
of all this, voices emerged within the
Vested
interests
Commenting on this, a Sarawak-based activist said there were certain quarters
within the indigenous tribes who resented the resistance that Kelesau
represented.
“These are mostly individuals with vested interests in (the) logging
(industry). The struggle against the logging companies has been compromised by
this split within the communities,” he said.
In short, inter-tribal issues cannot be ruled out as having contributed to the
grievances against Kelesau and may have resulted in his demise, added the
activist.
In a related development, Miri resident Ose Murang revealed investigations into
Kelesau’s death had been placed under the direct supervision of the Sarawak
Chief Minister’s office.
His statement suggests that the authorities have begun to focus their lens
slightly more on the case following the international coverage.