12 June 2024
On Today Show
— Garak Jalong, the Village Chief of Long Lawen Village, Murum – Two Dams, Two Decades of Struggle: The Story of Long Lawen
— Shakila of Borneo Komrad – From Semporna to Inanam: A Wave of Demolitions Hits Sabah
— Romuald Siew from Tahabas – Romuald Siew Speaks Out on Political Interference in Longhouse Leadership
Topik Pada Hari Ini
— Garak Jalong, Ketua Kampung Kampung Long Lawen, Murum - Dua Empangan, Dua Dekad Perjuangan: Kisah Long Lawen
— Shakila dari Borneo Komrad - Dari Semporna ke Inanam: Gelombang Pembongkaran Melanda Sabah
— Romuald Siew dari Tahabas - Romuald Siew Membangkitkan Isu Campur Tangan Politik dalam Kepimpinan Rumah Panjang
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*Special Randau*
1. "SEB still owes us Long Lawen residents, so we don't have to pay the electricity bill," said Village Chief Long Lawen Garak Jalong. "The land of the Tegulang resettlement area belongs to the residents of Long Lawen, and SEB has not yet paid us compensation. A lawyer's letter has been sent to SEB to demand payment of the compensation." According to Garak, building a dam does bring a lot of profit to the government, but environmental damage and conflicts among the community increase. "So I advise the Sarawak government not to build any more dams."
2. In the Rosmah Mansor case, 1MDB and 10 companies filed a Mareva injunction against Rosmah to prevent her from withdrawing or disposing of any of her assets amounting to RM1.6 billion. The application was a follow-up to a suit filed against Rosmah and another individual in relation to luxury goods worth RM1.6 billion allegedly bought with embezzled 1MDB money.
3. The attorney general will submit an objection regarding the application of Daim, his family, and some companies to return and cancel the action of freezing their bank accounts.
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Garak Jalong, the Village Chief of Long Lawen Village, Murum
*Two Dams, Two Decades of Struggle: The Story of Long Lawen*
When the residents of Long Gang moved to the new Sungai Asap settlement in 1998 to make way for the construction of the Bakun Dam, some Long Gang residents refused to move and decided to stay in a higher plateau called Long Lawen. He explained that when the Murum Dam was built in 2013, the Penan residents of Murum (seven longhouses) were relocated within the NCR land of Long Lawen. Thus, they faced dam-related problems twice. This is how difficult their lives have been due to the state government's decision to build two mega dams near their village.
Even after more than 26 years, the residents of Long Lawen still use logging roads to get to Bintulu, with a one-way trip costing RM800 and a round trip costing RM1600. They have pleaded, but the government's promise to pave the 17 km road from their home to the SK Tegulang junction has not yet been fulfilled. Long Lawen Longhouse, with 75 doors, was connected to electricity by SEB in 2023. But to this day, they haven't paid the electricity bill. The reason, he said, is that SEB still owes them. The land involved in building the Tegulang resettlement area has not been compensated by SEB and the Sarawak government. SEB must pay their debt to them first, only then will they pay the electricity bill.
Although the government says that building more dams will generate more money for the country, the social and environmental impacts make Garak Jalong disagree with building more dams in Sarawak. They refused to move when the Bakun Dam was built. But when the Murum Dam was built, the Penan Murum residents came/relocated to their place, which felt like an invasion of their forest and land. This, he noted, caused conflicts within the community.
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Shakila of Borneo Komrad
*From Semporna to Inanam: A Wave of Demolitions Hits Sabah*
A shocking incident happened in Kota Kinabalu around the coastal area of Kampung Manga Inanam, where the Borneo Komrad received a picture from the local community yesterday showing that some residents were forced to vacate their homes. The enforcement teams demolished houses.
Last week, the Sabah Parks agency demolished and burned some houses in Semporna, and this week, just two days ago, the same thing happened to communities in Kampung Kalan Kanan, Kota Kinabalu. Around 30-40 houses were demolished by approximately 50 enforcement officers.
What started as an ordinary monitoring operation for undocumented communities turned into the demolition and burning of houses. The saddest part was that pregnant women and elderly people were inside the houses during the incident, while the men were out at work. As a result, they didn't manage to save their belongings.
Yesterday, Borneo Komrad was told by the community that some residents are hiding in the jungle. Fourteen out of the 40 houses were dismantled by enforcement officers, but it is not clear which agency they were from. That area is mainly a mangrove site.
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Romuald Siew from Tahabas
*Romuald Siew Speaks Out on Political Interference in Longhouse Leadership*
Romuald Siew shared his views on the issue of appointing community leaders, which is becoming increasingly concerning as the tradition of appointing community leaders is more inclined towards political interests. As a result, too many longhouses in the interior, especially those of the Dayak community, often become divided due to the strong differentiation of political ideologies, disregarding the harmony of the longhouses.
Politicians are also the main cause of division and disunity in the longhouses, and this is very worrying. If the matter of appointing longhouse chiefs is not addressed, the new generation will likely follow suit and politicize the position of community leader in the future.
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