15 May 2024
On Today Show
— Gereng Jadum, Penan from the resettlement area of Metalun/Murum – The Struggles of Penan Communities in Metalun: Nine Years of Neglect
— Barnie Lasimbang, Founder of Tonibung, environmental activist – Three Years of Effort Culminate in Kuamut Rainforest Project Certification
— Richard Engan, Social and Political Activist from Baram – Dayak Voices Against Online Bumiputra Status Application
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*Special Randau*
1. Gereng Jadum - We in the Murum resettlement area are facing difficulties and setbacks. No one wants to take responsibility and come to help us. Before the dam was built, the government persuaded us to agree to its construction, promising that in the resettlement/new area, we would progress. But the reality now is that our lives are harder. Gereng agrees with the suggestion of Murum ADUN - Kennedy Chukpai to establish a special task force to address the problems of the relocated residents due to dam construction.
2. UITM students dressed in black will start protesting tomorrow against the proposal to allow non-Bumiputra students to enter the institution.
3. Consideration of house arrest for Najib will only come after the 1MDB trial is over, says PMX. Anwar says that if his opinion is sought by the King, that will be what is conveyed.
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Gereng Jadum, Penan from the resettlement area of Metalun/Murum
*The Struggles of Penan Communities in Metalun: Nine Years of Neglect*
In the current session of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, the Sarawak State Assemblyman for the Murum area, Kennedy Chukpai Ugon, proposed to the Sarawak government to establish a special task force to address the issues faced by residents in the resettlement areas of Bakun and Murum. According to Chukpai, the problems faced by the resettled residents due to the construction of the dams need to be resolved immediately. Gereng Jadum, who lives in the Metalun-Murum resettlement area, welcomed this proposal and hopes their issues will be addressed promptly. He has frequently spoken on Radio Free Sarawak (RFS) to highlight the problems they are facing, including employment issues, road problems, clean water supply, and the fact that they were not given land for agriculture.
Gereng Jadum reported that the Penan children in Metalun had not attended school for two weeks. For the past nine years, SK Metalun has been operating in temporary buildings left behind by Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), and the teaching and learning process has not been proceeding as hoped. The children are not being taught as they should be; instead, every day in the classroom, cartoons are shown for their entertainment. The 12 teachers do not enter the classroom and do not teach the children. Therefore, the community protested and refused to send their children to school.
Children who stay in the hostel—only students from grades 4 to 6 are given food, while grades 1 to 3 are not given food, with the excuse of insufficient funds. The community had been paid a car rental allowance to send their children to school, but now the allowance is delayed by 2 to 3 months. These are the problems they are facing. The new SK Metalun school under construction is only 70% complete. In their opinion, this school should have been built simultaneously with their relocation nine years ago. They have lodged complaints and met with the District Education Officer, who promised to resolve their issues. They are waiting for the resolution. Children who have continued their education in secondary school almost all fail to master their studies because they lack a strong foundation in primary school.
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Barnie Lasimbang, Founder of Tonibung, environmental activist
*Three Years of Effort Culminate in Kuamut Rainforest Project Certification*
Barnie Lasimbang commented on the Kuamut Rainforest conservation project involving a carbon credit scheme, which was just announced with the first tranche verified by the Malaysia Stock Exchange and the carbon trading certification body, Verra. This project is located in the Kuamut Forest Reserve in Sabah and is managed by Yayasan Sabah. The project was proposed in 2017 by Permian Global's local subsidiary, Permian Malaysia, a company based in the United Kingdom. The pilot project aimed to ensure the appropriate forest reserve for carbon trading. This project was kept low-profile as a private-public initiative and was not widely known to the public, unlike NCA or other government-led carbon programs.
Permian invested a significant sum of money in this project to conduct scientific research and engage with the communities in the Kuamut Forest Reserve, covering an area of 83,381 hectares. Permian collaborated with scientific groups, including the Southeast Asia Research Group and the UK Royal Society. They also engaged with the Pacos Sabah NGO to conduct consultations and mapping to identify the Native Customary Rights (NCR) with the related communities, particularly those living along the Kinabatangan River. The aim was to identify the kind of development that the communities needed, such as basic necessities like water supply, electricity, and roads.
Obtaining certification for the project was not easy. It took three years of work, starting in 2021 until last year, for approval. The certification process involved three main aspects: ensuring the forest is genuinely protected and secure, especially since the area is well known for illegal logging; collaborating with WWF to identify high conservation value forests and determining how these areas could be protected; and ensuring that the communities genuinely benefit from the program.
The area has been divided into zoning areas such as the core zone, which is fully protected, the buffer zone, and the community zone for activities like swidden agriculture, with community-based protocols in place to manage these activities effectively.
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Richard Engan, Social and Political Activist from Baram
*Dayak Voices Against Online Bumiputra Status Application*
Richard Engan disagrees with the Sarawak government's proposal to implement an online application for Bumiputra status recognition. He argues that if the Dayak people accept Bumiputra status, they will only become second or third class within the Bumiputra category. This status should not be applied for online because the Dayak people do not want to be divided under a Bumiputra classification, which undermines their identity and constitutes discrimination against their rights as Dayak people.
Richard suggests that the Dayak people should follow the example of the Kalimantan Dayak, whose status has never been altered, and who continue to maintain their identity as Dayak people from various ethnic groups. He urges that political power should not be allowed to diminish the dignity of the Dayak people.
Nowadays, the government is seen as feeling threatened by the Dayak community's unity and strength, and thus attempts to undermine their status to cause division and disunity, ultimately marginalizing the Dayak people. Unfortunately, current Dayak leaders lack the courage to speak up for Dayak rights and fear leaders from non-Dayak backgrounds. This is why the congress for Dayak unity has not been successful until now.
This is the weakness of Dayak leaders; when the Dayak people are oppressed and belittled, no Dayak leader dares to defend them. In the past, when the Dayak were labeled as "others" in government forms, they protested. Now, a new issue has arisen where the Dayak people must apply online for Bumiputra status, which should not be supported.