29 July 2024
On Today Show
— Tr. Panting ak Baling, Head of Sg Agricultural Heritage Village. patin, Similajau Bintulu – Villagers Detained by SFC for Harvesting in Contested National Park Area
— Dennis Along, Activist of Long Terawan, Mulu – Starting an inquiry into the claim without prior consultation is an unreasonable procedure!
— Michael Jok, Secretary-General of Scrips – Indigenous Communities Urged to Assert Adat Laws for Land Boundary Determination
— Bruce Yee, an independent observer of the re-delineation process – Re-delineation and Voter Relocation: Opposition Raises Alarm in Sarawak
Topik Pada Hari Ini
— Tr. Panting ak Baling, Ketua Kampung Warisan Pertanian Sg. Patin, Similajau Bintulu – Penduduk Kampung Ditahan oleh SFC kerana Menuai di Kawasan Taman Negara yang Dipertikaikan
— Dennis Along, Aktivis Long Terawan, Mulu – Memulakan siasatan mengenai tuntutan tanpa rundingan awal adalah prosedur yang tidak munasabah!
— Michael Jok, Setiausaha Agung Scrips – Komuniti Orang Asli Digesa untuk Menegakkan Undang-Undang Adat dalam Penentuan Sempadan Tanah|
— Bruce Yee, pemerhati bebas proses penyeragaman semula – Penyeragaman Semula dan Penempatan Pengundi: Pembangkang Menyuarakan Keresahan di Sarawak
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Special Randau
1. The expansion of Taman Negara is the reason for the administration of Sarawak Premier Johari Openg to drive the poor people away from the agricultural land, the source of their daily income. This is what happened in Similajau Bintulu. The SFC began to evict and prevent residents from entering their agricultural land areas. For Dennis Along - The expansion of national parks is a license for the government to seize the land of Tutoh-Apoh residents.
2. Sarawak state election 2026- PKR will consider participating in the election to ensure Sarawak moves in the right direction. This is the brief response of the Sarawak PKR chairman when asked by the Borneo Post. Earlier today, several analysts gave their views on the need for PKR to avoid participating in state elections in order to maintain good relations with the unity government at the central level.
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Tr. Panting ak Baling, Head of Sg Agricultural Heritage Village. patin, Similajau Bintulu.
Villagers Detained by SFC for Harvesting in Contested National Park Area
Panting gave an update on what happened last Friday night. While the residents are collecting agricultural produce in their gardens. 3 villagers of agricultural heritage were arrested by SFC authorities. They were detained for several hours at the SFC HQ in Similajau. Realizing that, all the villagers gathered along the road leading to the SFC HQ. By 4pm the three were released. The problem faced by the residents is that they are driven out and are not allowed to collect their agricultural produce which is included in the Similajau National Park area (addition). During the administration of Sarawak chief minister Adenan Satem. Adenan visited the village and gave permission for the villagers to cultivate agriculture and Adenan also ordered the Land and Survey department to measure and issue a map of the agricultural lot for the residents involved. Unfortunately before the process is complete. Adenan Satem united the world. The Johari Openg administration has canceled the grant of the agricultural lot and approved the addition/expansion of the Similajau National Park to include the Sungai Patin Agricultural Heritage village. According to Village Chief Panting ak Baling. Even if the National Park is expanded. Our crops and gardens should be compensated. We should be given time and should still be given the opportunity to harvest our agricultural produce because that is the source of our income. We have all the evidence of dialogue and photos and documents with Adenan and all the departments involved during the agricultural lot approval process for us. The SFC challenged us to take the case to court. But we are aware that we will lose in court. Because they control all the information and we have no money to take our case to court. We appeal to YB Datuk Majang Renggie - Samalaju area assemblyman. YB did not want to interfere and even asked us not to fight the SFC. In these few days we have not entered the forbidden area. The situation is very tense now. We will set up a blockade in the near future. After getting the consent of all the villagers.
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Dennis Along, Activist of Long Terawan, Mulu
Starting an inquiry into the claim without prior consultation is an unreasonable procedure!
At the end of last year, the GPS Sarawak government announced that it was targeting to gazette a land area of one million hectares (ha) as Totally Protected Areas (TPA) by 2025. Through the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), the government has designated another five land areas to be gazetted as TPA. They are Tutoh-Apoh National Park; Bukit Lima Nature Reserve (Extension 1); Kubah National Park (Extension 1); Mature Nature Reserve; and Bako Buntal Bay National Park. All of these areas are already at the initial gazetting stage and are expected to contribute to the increase in land area that will be gazetted as TPA.
Among the communities affected by the Tutoh-Apoh National Park plan, opposition was raised earlier this year. They stated that Tutoh-Apoh National Park is a way of confiscating their land. The SFC will also introduce/enforce the TPA - Total Protection Area law, which will drive the indigenous people out of the area.
Today, the SFC held a "sesi inquiry into claim untuk Kawasan Cadangan taman negara tutoh-apoh di mulu" in Miri, where Denis Along appeared to voice his opposition. He stated that the SFC’s actions have confused the villagers, leading many to sign the claim under the mistaken belief that they would receive direct compensation, but if they cannot prove land ownership later, it will be too late. He cannot understand why the SFC started an inquiry into the claim without prior consultation.
He said that over 100 people have already signed the claim, and after talking to them, he found that they did not understand the situation. This is very dangerous, as signing the claim is equivalent to agreeing to the plan. Dennis believes that the 520,000-hectare Mulu National Park is already enough for the government to manage and develop, and there is no need to target other lands. He said that once the land is designated as a national park, agricultural activities, taking forest products, and hunting are prohibited. "We should be the ones appointed to look after the forest in Mulu because we Orang Asal are the most skilled forest keepers."
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Michael Jok, Secretary-General of Scrips
Indigenous Communities Urged to Assert Adat Laws for Land Boundary Determination
The indigenous people of Sarawak have the legal authority under native customary laws to determine the boundaries of their land. However, many remain unaware of this crucial right, according to the Society for Rights of Indigenous Peoples of Sarawak (Scrips).
Scrips has initiated a statewide campaign to educate the public about these laws, known as "adat." Michael Jok, Secretary-General of Scrips, emphasized that adat laws on land boundaries are applied based on communal evidence such as: Ancestral graves, Crops and trees, Natural borders such as rivers and streams and Physical evidence of dwellings.
Jok highlighted the importance of natives exercising their rights to self-determination of their ancestral land boundaries. "If they do not exercise their rights, impose their influence, and cooperate with each other in determining their land boundaries, they will end up being victimized by those seeking to grab their native land for development," he warned
The urgency of this campaign is underscored by the numerous disputes between natives and powerful entities such as land developers, logging companies, and plantation companies in Sarawak. Jok pointed out that these conflicts often arise because native communities are not fully exercising their adat rights.
He said that, it is crucial for native communities to be aware of and exercise their adat rights to protect their ancestral lands. By doing so, they can prevent exploitation and secure their heritage for future generations
This call to action by Scrips aims to safeguard the rights and lands of Sarawak's indigenous people, ensuring that they are not left vulnerable to external pressures and land grabs.
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Bruce Yee, an independent observer of the re-delineation process
Re-delineation and Voter Relocation: Opposition Raises Alarm in Sarawak
Bruce Yee emphasizes that all activists, NGOs, and opposition political parties in Sarawak should focus on the imbalance in the results of the last Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) elections. The previous results were seen as unreasonable, lacking in-depth research. The Sarawak State Election (PRN) will take place soon, and we, as the opposition, must be cautious of upcoming fraud.
The Election Commission (SPR) needs to re-delineate electoral constituencies (DUN/PARLIAMENT) because over the past eight years, there have been increases or decreases in the number of voters in certain areas. Therefore, the work of redrawing constituency boundaries is done periodically when eight years have passed.
One important constitutional principle, stated in the thirteenth schedule 2(c), is that each DUN/PARLIAMENT constituency must have approximately the same number of voters. However, exceptions are allowed for large, rural areas to have a lower number of voters compared to urban areas.
The re-delineation in 2015, which is suspected to have political motives and to favor certain parties, could result in political party victories in specific constituencies. According to the comparative chart of the number of DUN voters after the 2015 re-delineation, the extraordinary increase or decrease in the number of voters in several selected DUN constituencies in Sarawak has successfully changed the political landscape in those areas. For example:
1. Senadin: From 22,432 (2011) jumped to 27,874 (2016).
2. Batu Kawah: From 20,664 (2011) decreased to 16,991 (2016).
3. Dudong: From 26,251 (2011) jumped to 29,028 (2016).
The campaign of large-scale and illegal voter relocation can also result in an extraordinary and suspicious increase in the number of voters in a particular electoral area, thus increasing the victory of certain parties during the new elections. In the attached bar chart, there are extraordinary jumps in the number of voters in several selected DUN constituencies.
Furthermore, the implementation of the 18-year-old voter eligibility and automatic voter registration (PPSA) at the beginning of 2022 also contributed to the increase and jump in the number of voters in all selected DUN constituencies as shown in the chart, especially in 2022 compared to 2021.