A barricade of thick ropes, three empty wooden barrels and planks of timber greets lorry drivers approaching the Long Jaik longhouse near Sungai Seping in remote Belaga, deep in the jungles of Sarawak.
The Penan put up the blockade - about one kilometre from their Long Jaik longhouse - on Sept 25, with 300 people manning the make-shift checkpoint since then.
Their numbers are now down to 30 people a day, who nevertheless doggedly carry out their duties around-the-clock.
Their anger is directed at the RM3 billion Murum Dam - about 40km away - on which construction began in 2008 and is slated to be completed next year.
A team of Malaysiakini journalists visited the site early this week where they met Senang Kalang, 27, who vowed that no lorry carrying construction materials for the dam would be allowed to pass the barricade.
That's the message given to all lorry drivers who were forced to a standstill at Long Jaik.
Senang (left) said eight Penan longhouses will be affected by the dam construction.
The Penan put up the blockade - about one kilometre from their Long Jaik longhouse - on Sept 25, with 300 people manning the make-shift checkpoint since then.Their numbers are now down to 30 people a day, who nevertheless doggedly carry out their duties around-the-clock.
Their anger is directed at the RM3 billion Murum Dam - about 40km away - on which construction began in 2008 and is slated to be completed next year.
A team of Malaysiakini journalists visited the site early this week where they met Senang Kalang, 27, who vowed that no lorry carrying construction materials for the dam would be allowed to pass the barricade.
That's the message given to all lorry drivers who were forced to a standstill at Long Jaik.Senang (left) said eight Penan longhouses will be affected by the dam construction.
Besides Long Jaik, the others are Long Luar, Long Wat, Long Tangau, Long Menapa, Long Singu, Long Malim, Long Peran, and Long Umpa, which is occupied by the Kenyah-Badeng tribe.
According to Senang, 380 Penan had gathered when the barricade went up a month ago.
"However, having to meet the needs of our daily lives, 30 of us now taking turns to man the barricade at any one time. The others need to go into the jungle to find food for our families," he explained.
The barricade leads to one of the main roads to the dam site. The natives only allow logging trucks to use the road, which was ironically built by logging companies.
The idea of putting up the barricade came from discussions among the Penan themselves, who were increasingly aware of the slow process by which their livelihood was being destroyed as the construction of the dam progressed.
"We Penan decided to have this blockade as none of our demands made to the various authorities were met," Senang said.
‘Dam brings no benefit to us'
The Penan have been told they would be relocated to Mentalun and Tegulang when the 944MW capacity dam is completed.
Construction of the dam began three years ago, and it is expected to be completed at the end of next year.
Long Jaik longhouse chiefMatu Tugang (right), who is in his 40s, expressed his concerns over his flock being forced to relocate as their longhouse will be affected by the rising water from the dam.
Matu said the government's plan to resettle the Penan would destroy their way of life as they were used to hunting in the jungle to source for food and other needs.
"We are used to hunting wild boars and other animals, as well as fishing and planting padi, sugarcane and yam. If we are to move to Mentalun, the area is too small for us and it will be impossible for us to plant crops," he said.
Matu said the "development" that the government said it was bringing to areas such as his did not bring any benefit to the natives.
For one, Matu said, the nearby oil palm plantation has poisoned the streams and rivers, and this has slashed their fish supply.
"Then the logs. They take away the timber all around us, but they do not give us anything for our houses. The oil palm destroys our area and there is no benefit given to our villagers. And this will be so with the Murum Dam as well," he said.
Hence the blockade was erected as the final resort for the Penan to get their rightful compensation.
'We'll teach them a stern lesson'
The Penan are seeking RM500,000 for each family losing their customary land, 30,000ha for each settlement and 25ha for each family to plant food crops.
They also want education facilities for their children, community development funds to be set up and other rights to the land that would soon be flooded by the dam.
Belaga assemblyperson Liwan Lagang told Malaysiakini that he met with the leaders of the Penan community over three days early this month to discuss their demands and to persuade them to end their blockade.
However, the negotiations have yet to yield results. Liwan, who is also Sarawak deputy minister for culture and heritage, was quoted by a local daily as not wanting to commit to the demands of the Penan on paper.
Senang said so far only one truck dared to break the barricade since it was erected.
"We let it through after advising the driver that we would not give in the next time they tried to do so. If they try it again, we will teach them a stern lesson," he warned.
According to Senang, 380 Penan had gathered when the barricade went up a month ago.
"However, having to meet the needs of our daily lives, 30 of us now taking turns to man the barricade at any one time. The others need to go into the jungle to find food for our families," he explained.
The barricade leads to one of the main roads to the dam site. The natives only allow logging trucks to use the road, which was ironically built by logging companies.The idea of putting up the barricade came from discussions among the Penan themselves, who were increasingly aware of the slow process by which their livelihood was being destroyed as the construction of the dam progressed.
"We Penan decided to have this blockade as none of our demands made to the various authorities were met," Senang said.
‘Dam brings no benefit to us'
The Penan have been told they would be relocated to Mentalun and Tegulang when the 944MW capacity dam is completed.
Construction of the dam began three years ago, and it is expected to be completed at the end of next year.
Long Jaik longhouse chiefMatu Tugang (right), who is in his 40s, expressed his concerns over his flock being forced to relocate as their longhouse will be affected by the rising water from the dam.Matu said the government's plan to resettle the Penan would destroy their way of life as they were used to hunting in the jungle to source for food and other needs.
"We are used to hunting wild boars and other animals, as well as fishing and planting padi, sugarcane and yam. If we are to move to Mentalun, the area is too small for us and it will be impossible for us to plant crops," he said.
Matu said the "development" that the government said it was bringing to areas such as his did not bring any benefit to the natives.For one, Matu said, the nearby oil palm plantation has poisoned the streams and rivers, and this has slashed their fish supply.
"Then the logs. They take away the timber all around us, but they do not give us anything for our houses. The oil palm destroys our area and there is no benefit given to our villagers. And this will be so with the Murum Dam as well," he said.
Hence the blockade was erected as the final resort for the Penan to get their rightful compensation.
'We'll teach them a stern lesson'
The Penan are seeking RM500,000 for each family losing their customary land, 30,000ha for each settlement and 25ha for each family to plant food crops.
They also want education facilities for their children, community development funds to be set up and other rights to the land that would soon be flooded by the dam.
Belaga assemblyperson Liwan Lagang told Malaysiakini that he met with the leaders of the Penan community over three days early this month to discuss their demands and to persuade them to end their blockade.
However, the negotiations have yet to yield results. Liwan, who is also Sarawak deputy minister for culture and heritage, was quoted by a local daily as not wanting to commit to the demands of the Penan on paper.Senang said so far only one truck dared to break the barricade since it was erected.
"We let it through after advising the driver that we would not give in the next time they tried to do so. If they try it again, we will teach them a stern lesson," he warned.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.