BN rejects parliamentary motion on rape of Penan women

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

In a move slammed by women’s groups and opposition leaders, the federal government rejected a motion to debate the proposed establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the widespread sexual abuse and rampant rape of Penan women.

“I don’t know for how long more the government at both federal and state levels want to close their eyes to this problem,” MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

The motion was moved by Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin, who is also the head of PKR’s women’s wing.

She rejected as “callous” the reason given by Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee that the issue “did not fulfill the criteria of requiring immediate and urgent attention from the government”.

Kiandee also said the motion was unnecessary because the government had already set up a special task force to deal with the matter.

Covering up the extent of illegal logging

This is not the first that a formal and thorough inquiry has been resisted by the government at both federal and state levels. The abusers and rapists of the Penan women are mostly staff from timber logging companies, many of which are operating illegally in the timber-rich Baram area.

Any full-scale investigation could blow the lid off the massive underground logging activities taking place in Sarawak state.

Despite repeated warnings from environmentalists and economic experts about the un-sustainability of such large-scale extraction, corruption is so endemic at all layers of the state government that officials think nothing of openly siding these loggers.

“The Penans have made countless police reports against companies but there has never been any action to protect their rights. Instead, the Penans have been subjected to arrests, imprisonment and other forms of harassment – the total opposite of protection,” said Sarawak land rights activist Muhin Urip.

National task force report ignored

Last week, a coalition of 36 NGO called the Penan Support Group released a report in Parliament after conducting a fact-finding mission to Baram after police reneged on their promise to investigate the sexual attacks.

The PSG report found that rapes were still taking place and under-aged girls were also being preyed on. It highlighted the failure of state and federal authorities to act despite the shocking findings of an earlier national task force report.

Women’s Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil released the task force report last year, promising the federal government would insist and ensure that the state authorities acted.

“Whenever police reports are made by rural communities, nothing happens. But when companies involved in disputes with communities make police reports, the police act immediately to take down blockades,” said Muhin.