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updated 2001-01-31
Agenda Malaysia 11/09/00
The Penan Struggle
By Joe Fernandez
Twelve longhouse chiefs and 20 Penan elders established a new watershed at Sept 9 gathering when they renewed their commitment to revive the Penan land rights struggle, dormant the last decade. The gathering in Marudi, Central Baram, was a rare pow-wow presided over by Ajang Kiew, the paramount chief of the Penan and chairman of the Sarawak Penan Association. Penan chiefs gathered from over a vast territory stretching from near Miri almost to the border with Kalimantan, 10 hours away by land and boat from Marudi.
The last time such a gathering convened was July 1985, when Penan tribal chiefs met at Long Seridan in the Baram and expected state chief minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud, the director of forestry and the state secretary to turn up. The Sarawak government instead sent two rural settlement officers to the Long Seridan gathering, which accompanied the infamous timber blockades allegedly masterminded by maverick Swiss environmentalist Bruno Manser.
Penan grievances, generally stemming from native land rights, have changed little over the last 15 years. But there is a greater sense of expectation this time, following the recent statement from Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) chairman Tan Sri Musa Hitam that he would welcome a formal submission from the marginalised community. Apparently, "there is a provision in the law for Suhakam to take action based on the merits of the case."
Musa's advice followed an Aug 26 dialogue in Kuching with government officials and non-government representatives. The meeting took place against a backdrop of timber blockades maintained since late July by two groups, totaling 300 and 100 respectively, protesting against logging activities on their ancestral land in Miri's deep interior and in remote Limbang.
Ajang feels "this is the best chance for us to be heard by those at the highest level. For years, we have tried our best to voice our feelings to the authorities, to tell them our problems and our needs but without success. We met to put down in writing the problems faced by the different groups of our community scattered all over the Baram region and to come up with a common stand on what we need to do."
For starters, the Penan near Miri want three timber companies - Lajong Lumber (a subsidiary of Rimbunan Hijau), Shin Yang and Rawood - to stop logging activities in the Apoh Tutoh area in Ulu Baram, near Miri. They say these companies have encroached into communal forest reserves, logged out the timber resources, bulldozed fruit trees and burial sites, refused to compensate for the damage and are employing hired thugs to harass them.
The Limbang group comprises jungle produce collectors and semi-nomadic planters and hunters from Ulu Madiit and Ulu Magoh. "The areas concerned are the catchment area for the Sungei Ureu and Sungei Limbang," said Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) field officer Thomas Jalong.
The police come in for much criticism. The Penan complain they "often side with the logging companies." Over the last decade, the Penan have suffered almost 500 arrests, trials and imprisonments ranging from one day to nine months. Court hearings and trials take between five and 22 months after the first arrest. To this day, many cases of arrests made at blockades have not been resolved in the courts, as it is common for hearings to be repeatedly postponed while the defendants are out on bail. Increasing incidents of death, resulting directly and indirectly from the defence of land rights, are surfacing in Sarawak, according to human rights activists who monitor the situation in the state.
The Penan's complaints are largely directed against the state cabinet committee on Penan affairs, headed by Datuk Abang Johari Abang Openg. Set up in 1987, the committee pledged the creation of a special forest reserve for the Penan and the establishment of ,Penan Service Centres' (PSC) complete with school, clinic and agricultural department advisory services. The state government claims it has spent RM18 million on the community to date, and has established PSCs in Long Kevok, Batu Bungan, Lusong Laku and Long Jekitan. The Penan have been encouraged to settle down permanently in several places including Bintulu, Belaga, Lusong Laku in Ulu Belaga and Ulu Baram near Tinjar.
Still, many Penans continue to live a nomadic life in Lambir in the Miri Division and Ulu Baram, while those in Long Jekitan in Ulu Baram are semi-nomads. "The state government promised us land but till now nothing has been done," says Ajang. "No one has visited us from the government. They also promised to set up a RM1 million fund to assist us years ago but until today nothing has been done. What else can we do? We have no permanent place of our own so we have to continue living in the forests."
The Penan, says Ajang, want the state government and timber companies to respect and recognise their native land rights, investigate their claims and complaints and allow them access to their communal forests on which they depend for subsistence. Adat or customary law in Sarawak, unlike statute law, does not recognise the concept of private ownership of land. The system of rights allows individuals to use the land but it is the community as a group that exercises the legal rights.
"We have set a 10 year time-frame i.e. by the year 2010, for the Penan to lead a settled life and participate in the development of the state," said Abang Johari, disclosing that the state planning unit and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) are currently engaged in a joint socio-economic study on the Penan. The study, which began late last year, will review the progress made by the state government in managing Penan affairs and recommend strategies.
The current mood of the Sarawak natives is best expressed in the traditional battle-cry in the vast rural hinterland: "Tanah! Nyawa kami, pengidup kami, seput kami, darah kami, reta kami, kuasa kami, kami mati pulai ke tanah, kami mati ketegal ngetan ke tanah." ("Land is our life, our livelihood, our breath, our blood, our property, our right. It's where we return when we die. We will defend our land with our life.")