Some activists are preying on the Penan, says state rep

Some NGOs are making use of the Penan tribe’s problems, says an assemblyman. (Bernama pic)

KUCHING: The Penan community in Sarawak is prone to being used by several local and foreign NGOs with vested interests, a Sarawak assemblyman has said.

Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau said these NGOs would use the problems of the Penan community as a platform to raise funds by gaining the people’s sympathy. But he questioned if the money was ever channelled back to the community.

“I have not come across a single clinic, primary school, roads, solar facility, telco tower built by them. In fact, these facilities had been built and provided by the state government,” he told FMT.

He said the Penan community were vulnerable to being manipulated because most of them were still left behind compared to other native tribes because they were late in adapting to modern life.

“We are now in the 21st century but the way people describe the Penan community is based on what happened 100 to 200 years ago. This shows that they’re ignorant about the real lives of the Penan community,” he said,

He rejected the claim by Cynthia Gabriel, head of human rights group C4, who accused the previous government of neglecting the Orang Asli in the peninsula and the natives in Sabah and Sarawak. Speaking at a forum in Kuala Lumpur, she had called for changes to government policies on rural development.

Ngau said: “I have lived and grown up alongside the Penan community and now I serve them as the people’s representative. The Penans are nice people and we in the state government are trying to provide them with the basic facilities.

Elia Bit is head of the Penan Empowerment Networking Association.

“It’s a pity to see the Penan community living in poverty. They don’t really reject assistance but there are certain quarters who have been taking advantage of the Penan for their own benefit.

“I’m not sure how much money they made but if they’re really sincere in helping the Penan community then they should contribute something to the people.”

Elia Bit, head of the Penan Empowerment Networking Association, said that there were NGOs who were sincere in assisting the Penan community, but some NGOs tried to “market” the Penan struggle for their personal gain.

“There had also been cases involving parties who claimed to have allocation to transport the Penan children to school but then nothing was actually done to send the children to school,” she said. - FMT