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 Suhakam Finds Seven Areas To Improve Life Of PenansBy Bernama Bernama 2007-07-26 | KUCHING, July 26 (Bernama) -- A fact-finding mission of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has identified seven key areas requiring "drastic improvement" by the government to uplift the life of the nomadic Penan community in Sarawak to be on par with that of the other communities in the country. The mission, undertaken also with the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Working Group of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), has listed these areas as land rights, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports, poverty, personal identification documents, education, health, and the duty of the Sarawak state government in protecting the rights of the Penans. Suhakam said in a statement here Thursday the mission gathered its information in Long Singu and Long Jaik in Ulu Belaga following complaints by Penan chiefs Alung Ju (Long Singu) and Matu Tugang (Long Jaik) on July 26 last year pertaining to logging, oil palm plantation and reafforestation in their areas. On land rights, Suhakam claimed that the Sarawak Land Code 1958 has no provision on the right of the Penan community to land ownership, and as such recommended that the legislation be amended to take into consideration the Penan's unique way of establishing land ownership and stewardship. It said sections 5(2) and 5(2)e of the legislation specifies that the method of establishing Native Customary Rights (NCR) includes the use of land for burial grounds or others as stipulated by the land code. Suhakam recommended that where there was documentary evidence of the existence of Penan burial sites and paths, such information should be taken into consideration when allowing or rejecting projects for logging or oil palm plantations. On the EIA reports, it called on the state government to take the necessary measures to ensure that only independent consultants are appointed to do the reports to avoid bias and, at the same time, review the present procedure of verification of these reports. "Suhakam observes that there seems to be contradictions and inconsistencies between the findings of the consultants of the EIA report on the proposed Shin Yang Forest Plantation and claims made by the Penans there," it said, adding that the EIA report stated that there were no human settlements prior to the commencement of the forest plantation. Suhakam said the EIA report clearly contradicted data collected from international researchers as well as the Belaga District Office, which provided evidence of Penan settlements in Ulu Belaga at the time that the EIA report was prepared. On poverty eradication, Suhakam proposed increasing the number of service centres in Ulu Belaga, extending the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) scheme to the Penan community, and reviving the Green Book project on rural development that was implemented during the First Malaysia Plan (1966-1970) period. On personal identification documents, Suhakam said the National Registration Department should exercise flexibility in the matter by waiving the charges for late registration and empower Penan chiefs to validate documents for the purpose of acquiring birth certificates. As for education and health, it proposed that a primary school with classes up to standard four be built in Penan villages while the government allocation for rural health development under the ongoing Ninth Malaysia Plan (2006-2010) be increased and a portion of it be channelled specifically to the Penan community. As for the state government's duty to protect the rights of the Penan community, Suhakam said there should be more commitment in dealing with the issue by taking swift action when there are complaints from the community particularly pertaining to land, education, employment, documentation, healthcare as well as other rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. -- BERNAMA Reference Links
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