Sarawak moots resettlement plan for Penans

By Tony Thien

Malaysiakini

2007-11-07 | A closed-door dialogue session on the problems of Sarawak's 15,000-strong Penan community in Kuching on Tuesday turned into a briefing from the state Attorney-General JC Fong on a resettlement plan for the native community.

It was originally meant to be a meeting between Suhakam and state and federal agencies and several NGOs on the problems such as land rights and deplorable living conditions of the Penans.

Participants at the session were caught by surprise when Fong started to brief them on the state government's resettlement plan.

This was not among the recommendations made by Suhakam in its report on its investigations and findings on the plight of the Penans discussed at a recent state-level official meeting chaired by state secretary Wilson Bayo Dandut.

According to Sarawak-based Suhakam commissioner Dr Mohammad Hirman Ritom Abdullah, the AG said the Sarawak government wants to resettle the once-nomadic Penan community in Ulu Baram and Ulu Belaga "with proper facilities and access to communal reserve land."

The implementation of the plan would however be subject to the agreement of the community, Ritom told reporters later. He felt the resettlement plan is an important step in finding solutions to the issues relating to Penan land rights.

The Suhakam report had touched, among other things, on the issues and recommendations relating to the Penan Benalih blockade within the logging concession area of a Miri-based timber conglomerate Samling Plywood (Baramas) Sdn Bhd.

Report accepted

Ritom said state and federal agencies accepted Suhakam's recommendations made in its report.

Although officials said the Penan blockade has stopped, the stand-off between the Penans and Samling, the timber company operating in the area, and the state authorities is still on as the problems are far from resolved.

The Penans say the company is trespassing on their land by building a road to the logging concession area and they fear it could lead to further encroachment of their land rights if not stopped.

But local officials claim that by blocking the road, the protesting Penans are denying the delivery of services and assistance to other kampungs, a claim which is denied, as the Penan say there are two other alternative routes.

A source told Malaysiakini that what was supposed to be a dialogue on current issues facing the Penans turned out to be a briefing on the government's resettlement plan for the Penans by the AG,

'The session was completely 'hijacked' by the AG, ostensibly to try and deflect attention from the real issues at hand and the more immediate problems on the ground affecting the Penans, he added.

At the press conference, Ritom alluded indirectly to this when he said Suhakam's recommendations to the government in addressing the various Penan issues had been superceded by the announcement of the resettlement plan.

Another Suhakam commissioner Dr Chiam Heng Keng told reporters after the meeting that the resettlement plan must meet the various needs of the Penan community, particularly their skilled craft-making and communal reserves and jungles for them to forage.

Prior to the press conference, Suhakam staff distributed three press statements, two on the Penan Benalih blockade issue and the third, an executive summary of the report. However, these were not read out later.

In the report, Suhakam called on the state government to address the Penan claims to the NCR land within the licensed area.

Allocate land to them

It added that steps should be taken immediately to address the blockade issue.

It recommended that sufficient land be allocated to the affected Penan families, taking into consideration their dependency on forest produce for food, medicine and other basic necessities.

The series of blockades erected by the Penan has triggered national and international concern that the community is being dispossessed of native customary land.

"The blockade reflects the community's dire need to be heard," Suhakam said, adding that "despite efforts by numerous organisations and continuous recommendations to the government, the community seems nowhere near to achieving its perceived rights to ancestral land."

Suhakam said there is a need for the government to balance the country's economic development and exploitation of resources with the promotion and protection of basic human rights of its citizens, especially those as vulnerable as the Penans.

One of the participants said at the dialogue that the Penans were the weakest members of society and were therefore most vulnerable.

Another suggested that there should be a settlement of the Penan land rights issue and that any resettlement should take place on the basis of a cluster area concept.