With Taib gone, will Abang Jo respect native land rights?

 

In Sarawak, native communities are dependent on the land, natural resources and productive ecosystems for their livelihood and other needs.

However, it is widely documented that the indigenous populations and segments of the local Malay and non-native communities are adversely affected by the activities of logging, plantations, dams and other large-scale projects.

These projects have caused widespread destruction of the environment resulting in loss of lands, forests and resources.

After the late Taib Mahmud came into power in 1981, his government disregarded native rights, which are codified in the Malaysian laws and constitution.

His tenure saw wide-scale deforestation of Sarawak’s rainforests, all of which happened at an unprecedented rate. This depletion of the forest was driven by the logging industry and the introduction of oil palm plantations.

Virgin jungle was cut down and hundred-year-old trees were felled and sold and the cleared areas converted into oil palm plantations.

The Penans are most affected by these changes, and they fall ill through polluted rivers, game depletion causing widespread hunger and loss of traditional medicines and forest products.

The state government claims that the people have received benefits from the rapid industrialisation of the state. However, many of Sarawak’s rural communities dispute this and allege that the economic activity of these industries have effected little change.

It’s an open secret that Taib would issue licences and leases for logging and plantations to rich timber tycoons and individuals with political links.

There was little attempt to gain the consent of the affected communities and it is alleged that the shameful practice of preferential granting of concessions remains largely invisible until the machinery arrives to clear the land and fell the timber.

There have been skirmishes, some of them violent, between the indigenous people and the timber barons, but after many court cases and exposes, it remains to be seen if the recognition of indigenous peoples’ native customary rights to land will become a top priority.

The problems caused by logging in Sarawak are largely ignored by both the state and federal governments. Entering politics and remaining subservient to those at the top (unless one is at the top), remains a route to easy and instant wealth in Sarawak, Sabah and the Peninsula.

Do our politicians try to understand how the system has caused widespread anger among the indigenous people? Hardly.

In addition, Sarawakians are hampered by the state government’s lack of transparency and minimal emphasis on detailed environmental and social impact assessment reports on logging and projects carried out in the state.

Protests and timber blockades continue between the indigenous population and the logging companies. Despite the abundance of natural resources, Sarawak remains the third poorest region/state after Kelantan and Sabah.

For decades, Sarawakians wondered if this untenable position will last for as long as Sarawak’s precious timber is available for logging. Others wonder if it will continue until the Penans, Dayaks, and other indigenous people are silenced into submission or are driven off their lands?

Despite the many court cases brought by the local population affected most by the indiscriminate logging, native land rights, they have all largely been ignored even where the legal systems and the courts have delivered judgements in favour of indigenous communities. This despite the courts ordering the state to uphold native rights to lands, territories and resources.

The situation is unacceptable, and in most cases, the law was not upheld. Local authorities, police and loggers often in collusion, continue to harass and intimidate indigenous communities.

Malaysia is one of the world’s largest exporters of tropical timber. Sarawak timber exports are worth a few billion ringgit annually. The main buyers of Sarawak timber are Japan, India, Taiwan, Korea and other Asian markets.

With Taib gone, will the Sarawak administration under Abang Johari Openg respect the wishes and recognise the rights of the indigenous peoples of Sarawak? - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.