Rainforests World Music drowns sounds of chainsaws & tractors in Sarawak

By Rengah Sarawak

TAHABAS

2007-07-14 | A group of indigenous people comprising of Penan from Baram and other indigenous communities of Sarawak took their campaign against lost of land rights, rainforests destruction and the planting of oil palm and acacia trees on their Native Customary Rights (NCR) lands to the World Rainforest Music Festival event near Kuching on 14th July 2007.

The World Rainforest Music festival is an annual state government event that is held at the Sarawak Cultural Village near Kuching and attracts international musicians and visitors alike.

Hundreds of leaflet entitled "While you enjoy the sounds of the Rainforest, remember we now hear only the sounds of chainsaws and tractors" were distributed to visitors at the event venue by the indigenous communities.

The leaflet highlights the over 100 land rights cases affecting over 200 communities of all races including the Bidayuh, Iban, Kayan, Kenyah, Lun Bawan, Malay, Melanau and Penan that are being fought in Malaysian courts, defending the constitutional rights of the people over their own lands.

"Malaysian voices on illegal logging and encroachment are met with silence and indifference from politicians and the media."

"As our forests disappear, they are being replaced by oil palm and acacia," referring to the practice in Sarawak of logging companies being given licenses without the consent of the traditional land owners to extract valued timbers, thus turning primary into secondary forests. New licenses are then issued to new companies or logging companies which expand their business into mono-crop plantations to plant oil palm and acacia trees.

"These forests cannot give us food, water, a home or medicines." effectively telling the Rainforests Music Festival participants and visitors that the people are denied their rights to self-determination and their livelihood and survival are placed in jeopardy.

The leaflet continues "Without our forests and lands, we become poor, we loose out homes with no hope of good jobs and our children are robbed of their future and their heritage."

It further calls for support of land rights in Malaysia and help the people to protect the remaining forests.

"When the forest dies the music dies."

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• When the forests dies the music dies