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Extracted from Malaysiakini
Villagers mount barricades against timber firm
Nov 2,
Villagers from three Iban longhouses in Ulu Sungai Pandan, Bintulu
have resorted to setting up roadblocks to prevent a government-linked
plantation company from encroaching into their native customary rights (NCR)
land.
The villagers decided to erect the barricades of logs on Oct 15 after the
authorities failed to act on eight police reports they lodged against Grand
Perfect Sdn Bhd, a consortium of three large timber companies, for allegedly
encroaching into their NCR land.
The police promptly dismantled the barricade on Oct 19 following
complaints by the company. Unperturbed, the villagers set up another barricade
four days later, complete with banners sternly warning
outsiders against encroaching their land.
It is learnt that Grand Perfect Sdn Bhd was commissioned by the state
government to plant up to half a million hectares of acacia mangium, for a
state-owned pulp and paper project which is supposed to be the largest in
Southeast Asia.
Land earmarked for the project includes state land, NCR land, shifting
cultivation land and conservation land. This has caused growing number of
conflicts with native landowners as tree plantation projects are being expanded
across the Bintulu region.
Discussions mooted
Bintulu police chief Sulaiman Abdul Razak confirmed that complaints from both
sides were received and have been investigated.
According to Sulaiman, the Land & Survey Department said that the villagers
had no rights on the land which Grand Perfect Sdn Bhd was trying to gain access
to.
Sulaiman said that the police had visited the longhouses, however
no arrests were made over the barricades.
He hoped that the natives would hold discussions with the logging company
rather than resulting to confrontation, adding that the villagers can go to
court to prove their claims
over NCR land.
Meanwhile, the village chief of the affected longhouses told malaysiakini that apart from NCR land
violations, the tree planting activities are also believed to cause
contamination in drinking water.
Natives in many parts of the Bintulu region have complained about pollution in
river systems blamed on increased logging and plantation activities. Most
longhouses are situated near rivers.
