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Dear friends,
Greetings. Since the last update of 14 June the native
communities' opposition of land schemes has intensified. In
addition protest has been mounted against the development of
tourist-related facilities in the Mulu National Park, which
natives claim encroaches on their native customary land.
We have compiled here details on these, and other recent
developments in Sarawak.
A *Confiscation of Passports*
The passport of Jok Jau Evong, the Chairman of the Uma Bawang
Residents' Association in Sarawak was confiscated by the
immmigration authorities on 22 August 1993.
Jok Jau Evong was on his way to Peru for an international
conference of indigenous peoples when he was denied exit by the
immigration authorities at the Kuching International Airport.
His passport was taken and he was told to report to the head of
the security division at the Kuching Immigration Department. He
spent the next two days in vain trying to see the officer
concerned.
On the first day he was told that the Kuching office had not
received his passport from the airport authorities. His lawyer
confirmed with the airport immigration desk that the passport had
indeed been forwarded to the Immigration Department. On Tuesday,
24 August, he was told that the officer concerned was too busy to
see him. Those he managed to speak to said they had no knowledge
of his case.
In frustration, Jok Jau Evong return to his village in the
Baram District, at the other end of Sarawak, with no reason given
to him at all as to why his passport was confiscated. All he
received was a standard form letter stating that the taking of
his passport was at the direction of the Ministry of Home
Affairs.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia is appalled at this latest uncalled
for action of the immigration authorities. Last year, on 10
November another Sarawak native, Thomas Jalong Apoi who is SAM's
field officer in Sarawak, was also stopped from attending a
conference in Japan. His passport was confiscated at the Kuala
Lumpur International Airport. His appeal to the Minister of Home
Affairs received no response, and he has filed a case in court to
challenge the confiscation.
Another Sarawak native, Gara Jalong, faced a similiar
restriction when he was leaving the country to attend a regional
indigenous peoples' conference in Bangkok. He had actually
boarded the plane when he was restrained from leaving.
It is an irony that in the International Year of Indigenous
People which Malaysia joined with all countries to endorse at the
United Nations, the freedom of movement of Malaysia's indigenous
people has been curbed so drastically.
SAM calls on the Government to respect the rights of the
country's native people to travel freely, and to stop
confiscating the passports of citizens.
In June 1993, Penang-based lawyer Thayalan Muniandy was
denied entry to Sarawak when he went to visit some communities
seeking legal assistance.
B *PROTESTS AND ARRESTS*
i) *Land scheme developments: oil palm plantations*
More than thirty Iban longhouse communities in the Bakong and
Tinjar areas of the Baram district in Sarawak continue to oppose
the expansion of land development schemes in their district.
In early August, 6 residents of Bukit Peninjau in this
district were arrested for allegedly obstructing workers of a
plantation company from clearing a piece of land. They were
later released on bail after being ordered not to create further
trouble. This case was the latest of a series of similar
incidents where a group of eight natives and another group of
nine were arrested on April 14 and July 28 respectively at the
same place.
As timber resources in the state are being rapidly depleted
there has been an increasing emphasis on the establishment of
land scheme projects. These projects generally take the form of
large-scale monoculture plantations such as oil palm estates.
SAM is extremely concerned that these companies have commenced
operations despite not having submitted any EIA reports
beforehand, as required under the Environment Quality (Prescribed
Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 1987. Under
this regulation which came into force on April 1, 1988,
proponents of land development projects covering 500 or more
hectares of forest land (which have been converted for
agricultural purposes, or which involve changes in agricultural
use) are required to submit EIA reports before the projects can
be approved.
To date no action has been taken against these companies,
despite the companies having been notified by the Department of
Environment of the necessity of submitting EIA reports before
embarking on such schemes. The companies planning to set up
plantations include Timrest Sdn Bhd, Rimbunan Hijau Plantations
Sdn Bhd, Binu Plantation Sdn Bhd and Nadi Pelita Sdn Bhd. The
environment authorities have verified that to date no
applications regarding the conversion to plantation schemes have
been received from either project developers nor the Sarawak
state authorities who approved the projects.
In a previous incident, two Ibans from Sungai Langsat, Teru,
located in the Tinjar area which is also in the Baram district,
were arrested on May 30 for defending their native customary
rights (NCR) land against encroachment by Nadi Pelita Sdn. Bhd.
They were later released conditional upon good behaviour for six
months. They are among a group of natives from assorted longhouse
communities who claim that various land scheme companies which
are cultivating thousands of hectares of land for oil palms, have
encroached on their native customary land.
NCR land refers to land traditionally held by Sarawak's
native people, and cannot be sold to, or bought by, non-native
people; ownership is known but not necessarily recorded. This
native customary (NCR) right over land, although recognised under
the state land law, has not been officially demarcated in most
parts of the state, and the natives hold no formal titles to it.
As more and more native customary lands were targetted for
"development" purposes, the Sarawak state government set up the
Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) in 1981 as an
agency to facilitate the opening up of native customary lands.
The LCDA has the authority to undertake the development of ALL
categories of land for agriculture, commercial, industrial and
residential purposes, irrespective of their classification, once
it is declared a Development Area (see Appendix 1 for details).
The law authorises the LCDA to enter into negotiations with the
natives over the acquisition of NCR land and to secure their
involvement, e.g. as workers on the plantation schemes. If
natives are opposed to the schemes the LCDA has the power to
undertake the compulsory acquisition of land with the Minister's
approval.
Under the Land Code the Minister concerned is given power to
extinguish native customary rights which exist on any State land.
The order for the extinguishment of customary rights will be
published or notified in the government Gazette, or the order
will be brought to the notice of the persons affected in such a
manner as the Minister thinks necessary. Upon "expiry of six
weeks from the publication or notification in the Gazette, or
such notice having been affected as aforesaid, native customary
rights shall cease and be extinguished and the land held under
such rights shall revert to the Government". The Minister
concerned can extinguish native customary rights on the land for
any "public purpose, ... or ... for the purpose of facilitating
alienation ...". The definition of "public purpose" is open to
very wide interpretation. Oil palm land schemes are an example.
Once this occurs, the LCDA is free to dispose of the land in
*any* manner in its function as a land bank where it identifies
rural land and makes it available for development. In this
context the LCDA acts as a matchmaker between the owners of the
land and the interested investors, and then coordinates and
supervises the venture.
In the latest arrest of Iban natives from Bukit Peninjau,
the prosecuting officer stated that the disputed land was sold to
the LCDA, and ownership was later transferred to Binu Plantation
Sdn Bhd, which in turn leased the land to Syarikat Plantamas Sdn
Bhd.
Sarawak Land Development Minister Datuk Celestine Ujang has
reportedly said that the opposition to land development projects
is a result of "agitation by manipulative and irresponsible
environmentalists". He went on to predict the failure of these
"tactics" as the rural people were now aware of the need for
their lands to be opened up in order to improve their standard of
living. In response, the leaders of various longhouse communities
in the Bakong area have expressed their concern that the present
policy of land development is in need of review as it is
depriving them of access to and control over their customary
lands.
Please write letters to the Malaysian and Sarawak
authorities requesting:
i) that all projects be suspended until detailed and
comprehensive EIA reports are submitted by the land
developers, and approved after undergoing a public
review process which involves, in particular, the local
communities affected
ii) that action be taken to prosecute offending companies
which have already commenced operations in violation of
the law
iii) that no encroachment by land schemes should take place
on the native customary rights land of local
communities, which should be accorded recognition and
respect.
a) Mr. Law Hieng Ding
Federal Minister
Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment
13th Floor Wisma Sime Darby
Jalan Raja Laut
50662 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
Fax: 60.3.293 6006
b) Dato' Dr. Abu Bakar Jaafar
Director-General
Department of Environment
Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment
13th Floor Wisma Sime Darby
Jalan Raja Laut
50662 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
Fax: 60.3.293 1480
c) Datuk Amar James Wong
Minister, State Ministry of Environment and Tourism
8th Floor Wisma Bapa Malaysia
Petra Jaya
93502 Kuching
Sarawak
MALAYSIA
d) Director
Land Custody and Development Authority
14th Floor Wisma Bapa Malaysia
Petra Jaya
93502 Kuching
Sarawak
MALAYSIA
ii) *Berawan land dispute disrupts tours to Mulu National Park*
Since early August Berawan natives of Long Terawan, Tutoh, in the
Baram district have undertaken a number of actions to show their
dissatisfaction over what they claim as failure by the government
to settle their claims to Native Customary Rights land in Mulu.
These demonstrations are part of a series of protests in the Mulu
National Park which have intensified since June this year.
Local Berawan guides are refusing to provide tour services
to the famous Mulu Caves, and the resort facilities there are
short of fuel as the Berawans are also refusing to transport
fuel, a service they provide. Local labourers have boycotted
work, Berawan park guides are reportedly on strike, and
approximately 65 natives have set up a wooden barricade near the
bank of Sungai Melinau to block the fuel supply route to the
Royal Mulu Resort. This fairly new, very opulent five-star hotel
sits on a 50-acre site, is managed and operated by the Japanese
chain Rihga Royal Hotels, and has as part of its second phase of
development the construction of an 18-hole golf course. In
addition, all the 7 Berawan-based tourist agents have unanimously
agreed to stop bringing in tourists. These actions, which
followed the arrest of four protestors during peaceful picketing
over the past 2 weeks, have disrupted the tourist industry to
this area.
The protests are due to the Berawan natives' claims that the
development of tourism-related facilities in the national park is
encroaching on their native customary rights (NCR) lands. Some
Berawans are also involved in Borneo Adventure, a small tour
agency based in Miri, and they face the loss of business when the
resort takes over the guided tours of the Park.
The authorities have responded by stationing approximately
30 Sarawak Brigade Field Force men and 5 ordinary policemen in
the area. The four natives who were arrested, one of whom is the
owner of the NCR land on which the blockade has been erected,
were released on bail. The four are Jackson Suring, Lang Belarek,
Stanley Lahang and Marcus Lang.
The Berawans have been told that the land is state land over
which they have no customary rights, and that compensation will
only be paid if their claims are genuine. The government has
also alleged that the natives only claimed rights over the land
in the area after the opening of the national park for
development. The Berawan, however, assert that they have evidence
that as the first settlers in the Upper Tutoh area they have
lived off the land in that area for over two centuries. Minister
of Industrial Development Datuk Abang Haji Johari and Minister of
Social Development Datuk Adenan Haji Satem have on separate
occasions described the claims as having no basis. The Sarawak
Chief Minister, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud has
himself stated clearly that the Berawans hold no proof of their
NCR claims to the land. He went on to say: "If we are to
entertain these greedy people, then it would set a precedent and
an encouragement for others to make similar claims...soon all
state land could be in these greedy people's hand."
An emergency meeting between various state authorities and
some Berawan community leaders was called recently in an attempt
to resolve the situation.
Note: Although it is called the Mulu National Park, the area is
actually a state park created under the Sarawak state law.
C *INCREASED REVENUE FROM TIMBER INDUSTRY*
Export earnings from the timber industry in the Sarawak state
have risen by almost 10% despite the reduction in export volume.
This has contradicted fears that the cut in timber production
would be accompanied by a corresponding decline in the amount of
revenue generated.
The Sarawak state government's announcements in late 1992
that timber production would be cut to comply with the ITTO's
recommended annual quota of 9.2 million m3 for permanent forest
estates (PFE) had raised anxiety that state coffers would be
adversely affected. Instead, the decreased supply, coupled with
neigbouring Sabah state's ban on log exports, has driven sawlog
prices up sharply, leading to an overall increase of RM 61
million in state revenue for the first quarter of 1993.
Therefore, on the issue of commercial logging and the timber
trade, SAM reiterates that:
a) logging should be banned in water catchments, other
environmentally-sensitive areas, and biodiversity-
sensitive areas;
b) there should be no violations of native customary rights
lands or forests; and
c) there should be an increase in the price of tropical
wood in order to reflect its full value. At the same
time strict production quotas need to be imposed to
prevent even greater indiscriminate or illegal logging
given that with higher prices there will be temptation
to log more. Thus the decline in volume will be offset
by the increase in price, as evidenced by the
developments of the past six months.
D *LOGGING QUOTAS FOR 1993*
State Forestry Director Datuk Leo Chai has said that the logging
quota for permanent forest estates this year would be 9.5 million
m3, and for State land 6 million m3.
The term "Permanent Forest Estate" (PFE) is a misnomer as it
implies that forest areas which are defined as such are protected
for conservation. In reality, forest classified as PFE is
specially set aside for commercial logging. The difference
between this and non-PFE areas is that where PFE areas are
concerned, logging is governed by principles of "selective"
harvesting, logging quotas, enrichment planting, 25-35 year
logging cycles etc. Non-PFE tracts can be logged exhaustively,
clear-cut and eventually converted to other uses, or even left
degraded. Very often, even the conditions of "sustained yield"
logging in PFE areas are blatantly violated.
Sarawak has been logging so intensively that it will have
logged all its PFE primary forest by the turn of the century.
There is no choice but to reduce the rate, primarily because
there will be no PFE left for a first cut. Although there has
been some reduction in the logging quota for PFE areas since the
later part of 1992, heavy logging outside the PFE continues
unabated, so there is on the whole overlogging and forest
depletion in Sarawak.
E *MALAYSIAN LOGGING COMPANIES ABROAD*
Malaysian ships loaded with logging equipment have faced problems
upon trying to dock in Vanuatu due to violations of quarantine
regulations. These ships belong to Delta Enterprise Premier
Corporation, a Malaysian logging company which is commencing
operations on the island of Erromango in South Vanuatu.
Meanwhile Sarawak logging companies are expanding rapidly
into other countries, particularly Papua New Guinea. Other
countries include Guyana and Cambodia. Rimbunan Hijau and
Samling are the two leading companies involved.
We will continue to keep you informed of further
developments.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
S.M. Mohd. Idris, JP
President
Sahabat Alam Malaysia
19 Jalan Kelawei Road
10250 Penang, Malaysia
email: twn@igc.apc.org