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Monday, November 10, 2014

Bidayuh get ownership of mountains

Gazetting the mountains may not be equivalent to recognizing them as NCR (Native Customary Right) land unless specified.
sarawak-state-assembly-buildingMIRI: The Sarawak Government has accepted in principle to gazette all mountains straddling Bidayuh country from Lundu to Serian as reserve land for the Bidayuh nation which lies on both sides of the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
Assistant Minister for Community Development, Peter Nansian, who gave the good news in an announcement, however added that winning the status hinges on the Bidayuh speaking with one voice and lodging a formal application with the Sarawak Government on the matter.
“This is an important issue for us since much of our heritage, left us by our ancestors, lies in these mountains,” said Nansian who is also Tasik Biru Assemblyman. “Gazetting the mountains as reserve land for the Bidayuh will enable us to recover and preserve this heritage.”
“Once gazetted, these mountains cannot be exploited for commercial purposes by private parties.”
The mountains can be surveyed and individual lots of claimants can be recognised, added Nansian. “Gazetting will facilitate this process.”
Nansian’s statement was in conjunction with plans by the Association of Research and Development of Singai Sarawak (Redeems), which he heads, to collaborate with the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) to conduct research on the flora and fauna on Mount Singai, one of the mountains in Bidayuh country. Bung Bratak and Bung Jagoi are other important mountains nearby.
Former Kuching Bidayuh community leader Stephen Jussem, in an immediate reaction, welcomed the move. Gazetting, however, may not be equivalent to recognizing the mountains as NCR (Native Customary Right) land unless specified.
“The various Bidayuh tribes, such as the Bisingai, Bijagoi, Bratak, Biperoh, Pinyawa, Bisapug, Bisitang, Biatah, Bibukar and Sadong, had different places in the mountains in the old days as places of refuge for defence purposes,” he said.
“These places were called ‘Bung’, which means top because they were at the mountain tops used as hideouts and defence against enemies.”
Penghulu Jidokson Raway, a community leader in Singai, said the offer by the Sarawak Government to at least gazette the mountains was exciting news although not exactly something that they had been waiting for years unless specified as NCR land.
It was learnt that Redeems has plans to monetize and commercialize its findings in Mount Singai. An earlier study undertaken by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) on the mountain discovered many wild species including the world’s smallest frog.
Bi means people, dayuh means land.

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