Jok Jau Evong, the president of the Uma Bawang Resident's Association and
a leader of the indigenous rights movement in Sarawak, was barred from
leaving Malaysia on August 22. He was on his way to Peru for a meeting
of the International Alliance of the Indigenous Tribal Peoples of the
Tropical Forest. No reason was given by immigration officials as to why his
passport was impounded. See the enclosed article from the Borneo Post
describing the sequence of events.
Two other Sarawak natives, Thomas Jalong Apoi and Gara Jalong, have
faced similar affronts to their civil rights. Thomas Jalong, Sahabat Alam
Malaysia's field representative in Sarawak, has waited nearly a year for an
explanation for why his passport was confiscated while he traveled to
Japan for a meeting of the International Tropical Timber Organization in
November 1992. The lack of response has led him to file the case in court
to challenge the confiscation
It is sadly ironic that the fundamental right of freedom of travel should be
denied important native rights activists, in this, the Year of Indigenous
People. The Berkeley-Borneo Big Home Project is doing everything it can
to help Jok Jau recover his passports and to help him get his story out to
the largest possible audience. We are contacting local and federal officials,
encouraging them to write letters to the Malaysian government on Jok's
behalf.
Your help is crucial. Please write polite letters to:
Director General of Immigration
Malaysia Immigration Department
Block 1, Jalan Damansutra
Pusat Bandar Damansara
Damansara Heights
50550 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Director, Malaysia Immigration Department
1st and 2nd Floor
Bangunan Sultan Iskandar
Jalan Simpang Tiga
93550 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
His Excellency
Dato Mohamed Abdul Majid
Ambassador of Malaysia
Malaysian Embassy
2401 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20008
Express to the immigration authorities and the ambassador your grave
disappointment that Jok's passport was revoked. Ask them why Jok's
passport was confiscated, and to arrange for its speedy return. Please send
us copies of your letters so we can forward them to Uma Bawang.
Jok is a true visionary. Uma Bawang, in conjunction with Sahabat Alam
Malaysia, has formulated a plan for native control of the rainforest which,
if implemented, would be a model for native communities facing the
destruction of their environment and their way of life.
The Berkeley Borneo Big Home Project was established to support the
people of Uma Bawang in their efforts to halt the destruction by timber
companies on the land they depend on for survival. In 1991, Berkeley and
Uma Bawang became Sister Cities following a theme of citizen's diplomacy
which has long flourished in the city of Berkeley. The Berkeley Borneo
Project is a project of Earth Island Institute.
If you are interested in finding out more about the Berkeley Borneo Big
Home Project contact us via
e-mail: bborneo@igc.org
phone or fax: 510-649-8460
mail: Joe Lamb or Martha Belcher
1137 Hearst Ave., Apt. D
Berkeley, CA 94702
USA
Passport Impounded for No Reason: Tribesman
The Borneo Post
Wednesday, August 25, 1993
Kuching -- A president of a longhouse community and development
association who was on his way to attend an international conference was
baffled as to why the Immigration Department detained his international
passport.
Speaking at a press conference, Jok Jau Evong, 41, of Uma Bawang, Baram,
appealed to the Immigration Department to release his passport soonest to
enable him to attend the second conference of the Indigenous Tribal
Peoples of the Tropical Forest which will be held in Peru beginning
tomorrow till August 31.
Jok, a Kayan and also the president of his longhouse residents association,
had sought the assistance of a local lawyer, Mr. Cheng Hui Hong, to recover
his passport which was detained last Sunday at the International Airport
here when he was about the board a flight to Singapore.
Relating the incident to pressmen, Jok said the Immigration officer who
took his passport did not give any reason as to why his passport was
impounded.
He added that the officer only gave him a letter stating that his passport
would be handed over the department's Head of Security Section at
Bangunan Sultan Iskandar for investigation purposes and that he was to
report himself there the following morning.
Jok, who felt that he had been deprived of his citizen rights, said he went
to the Immigration office at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar early yesterday
morning and after waiting for several hours, he was informed that his
passport was not there.
He further said that this is the second time he was invited to attend the
conference adding that he first attended it last year in Penang.
Meanwhile lawyer Cheng who was also present this morning, said two
senior immigration officers whom he head contacted had not given any
concrete answers as to when Jok's passport would be returned to him. He
said the two officers also denied having seen the passport.
He questioned under what section of the law did the Immigration
Department detain the passport adding that Jok had the right to know why
his passport was being impounded and when he would be able to get it
back.
It is the duty of the department concerned to enlighten Jok on what option
to take other wise they would resort to legal proceedings, Cheng said.
"Taking some one's passport is a serious action as it (passport) is one's
citizenship identity and taking it away means striping someone of his
identity," he added.