October 11, 2012
Plight of Penans is our shame
by Himanshu Bhatt
WHILE most Malaysians, particularly those in the Peninsula, have been going on with their daily routines over the last few weeks, few may be aware or have taken any real bother for a human tragedy that is taking place in a deep remote forest of Sarawak.
Those of us who have been keeping up with news reports by the Sun’s assiduous Sarawak correspondent, Sulok Tawie, may have taken note of the immensely grave situation in the Belaga district, where the Murum dam is being built. The artificial reservoir is expected to swamp an equatorial rainforest about the size of Penang island.
Even as you read this, hundreds of men, women and children from the Penan tribe are fearlessly continuing their blockades of access roads to the project area, to prevent construction vehicles and crews from further clearing the vast forest.
The indignation that these Penans feel is not just at having their ancestral land decimated by the massive project; there is a sharp sense of insult and sheer injustice at the inadequate level of compensation they are supposed to be given to get out of the customary land they have inhabited for centuries.
There is perhaps a greater tragic irony in this affair. The RM3 billion dam is expected to be completed by next year to help fulfil the energy needs of the region. But it is located only about 70km upriver from the RM7.5 billion Bakun dam, which was said to have swamped natural forests the size of Singapore, and which started transmitting power since August last year.
When it was being planned, the highly controversial Bakun was touted to be necessary to meet the electricity demands of not just East Malaysia, but also of the Peninsula.
Surely Malaysians, whether in Borneo or the Peninsula, would be interested to ask why a dam such as Murum is now being built, and so close to Bakun, after the gigantic Bakun itself was supposed to have provided for much of the electricity consumption of the whole country.
To make the projects even more questionable, plans are now also afoot to build a dam along the mighty Baram river, some 250km from Miri. This RM4 billion proposed project would affect more than 20,000 natives, mostly of the Kayan and Kenyah communities.
There is a poignant human dimension in this whole affair that has been neglected – particularly by much of the peninsula-based media and citizenry. In fact, there seems to be a shameless sense of nonchalance and apathy towards what is happening to the natives in Sarawak.
Almost a month after Malaysia Day – which was only recently observed to
celebrate the union of Peninsular Malaysia with the Borneo-based states of Sarawak and Sabah – we see a glaring degree of insensitivity by those on the peninsula towards the stinging humanitarian incidents occurring in Sarawak.
This is despite the sufferings of the Penans, and many other natives of Sarawak, having long been documented and reported by environmental and human rights circles.
What is occurring in Murum and Baram only echoes the suffering that numerous Penans and others went through since the 90s when they were forced out of the Bakun forests. It echoes the gruesome reports of rape of Penan women by outsiders working in interior areas where perpetrators escape detection and punishment from the law.
Yet, there has hardly been a whimper or any significant expression of concern by Malaysians in the Peninsula to the atrocities taking place among the largely voiceless Sarawak natives.
In fact, such indifference among Peninsula folks as they nonchalantly go about their lives here, is symptomatic of the highly detached view urban Malaysians generally have towards the plight of the indigent and vulnerable communities in the country, especially in rural areas.
There are several layers of tragedy that this affair has shown – the ruthlessness of modern development, the coldness of the authorities, and the indifference of the rest of society. All these are now painfully reflected off the angry glaze of determination set on the eyes of the Penan people in Murum, as they continue their defiant stand on a few unknown dusty roads, to protect the only motherland they have ever known.
The writer is theSun’s news editor. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
Antares,
There are no comments on the Penan issue here.You know the situation better than most of us on this blog. You live among of the natives in Pertak in the Kuala Kubu area. So your thoughts and views are welcome.
I think journalist Bhatt of theSun is right in his observation that:
“…indifference among Peninsula folks as they nonchalantly go about their lives here, is symptomatic of the highly detached view urban Malaysians generally have towards the plight of the indigent and vulnerable communities in the country, especially in rural areas.
…There are several layers of tragedy that this affair has shown – the ruthlessness of modern development, the coldness of the authorities, and the indifference of the rest of society. All these are now painfully reflected off the angry glaze of determination set on the eyes of the Penan people in Murum, as they continue their defiant stand on a few unknown dusty roads, to protect the only motherland they have ever known.”.
Businessmen and politicians are in league to exploit the resources of the state of Sarawak without regard to the environmental and social consequences of their actions. How can we continue, for example, to allow one man to amass billions of US dollars, leaving native Sarawakians in remote areas of their state in a state of abject poverty. It is also just unconscionable that we should allow young children without clothes and proper facilities including proper education and healthcare. They are our future.
I congratulate the Bruno Manser Foundation, Ms. Brown and her Sarawak report and activists led by lawyer Baru Bian for continuing to bring to light the plight of Penans and other natives in Sarawak to our attention. But we remain indifferent and so is the international community.–Din Merican
The International community is not indifferent but rather uninformed. Apart from the Bruno Manser Foundation not much news comes out from Sarawak. No one is championing the Penans plight like Greenpeace that makes headlines. It’s not so much of against Pek Moh but should be addressed against the Federal Government, then it will attract attention.
It’s a sad thing as malaysians ourselves who tend not to bother to look into the plights of our fellow brothers in sarawak. But when it comes to Palestin, most of us rush to give comments & supports on them.
Isn’t it time that sometimes we should look inwards? I bet during the 60s & 70s, Malaysia may have participated in condemning Ian Smith’s Rhodesia in holding on to white power over in now Rhodesia. But after all has been acheived, look at Zimbabwe. Any better?
What similar treatment towards the Orang Asli need to be addressed too, in details.
Believed that much can be said about it too.
Firstly, the Bakun Dam with 2,300 MW when fully operational is underutilized. The HVDC (high voltage direct current) cables to supply up to 70% output to the Peninsula are nowhere to be seen, with the main contractor rumoured to be MRCB and Sime Darby in terminal dysfunction. Heck, they even trashed the former CEO of SB for some trumped up misdemeanour due to the escalating costs – which comes as no surprise.
With this Murum Dam on line, there will be so much excess capacity, that TNB can even build a coupla of Tesla coils in Putrajaya/Sri Aman so that instead of Fireworks, we can have phosphorescent electrical discharges during festive occasions. All this talk of the Trans-Borneo Power Grid Interconnection is as Bunkum as Bakun.
The Human and Environmental costs of such schemes and scams are horrendous. But we have gone through all that before.. The last time someone asked Octo about the suffering induced, he just said that it’s the cost of progress. Whose? I wonder.
How did we get to such a tragedy?
It’s all in the workings of greedy, corrupted, self-entitled, rapacious politicians who scheme and dream up spurious ways to rip off as much as they can before they meet their Maker. They have no remorse nor any shred of empathy for ‘lesser’ mortals. They destroy the forests to extract the timber F.o.C, then they proceed to intimidate the indigenous tribes by murder, starvation and rape, then they profit by over-charging the costs of the project by 30%. Shame? That’s not in their vocabulary. There is a pattern to their madness.
How can we undo such inhuman acts and genocide, when the Olympian Gods have spoken thus? Nada, except by armed insurrection by the afflicted. Will the concerned environmental NGOs stage a rally, like that in Rapid/Pengerang or Lynas/Gebeng? Assuredly not – not political enough. Now, that’s sheer hypocrisy too.
What happen to our win win formula? We used to hear of once upon a time. You mean the formula have changed to I win you lose? Well, it is clear when we continue to allow BN to rule.
What happen to our win win formula? We used to hear of once upon a time. You mean the formula have changed to BN wins you everybody loses? Well, it is clear when we continue to allow BN to rule.
While they build these mega-dams of damnation, they won’t even entertain the Trans-Borneo Highway (TBH), which will certainly bring much more benefit to the interior of Sarawak-Sabah. Why? Too many bridges needed and clear cutting of the jungle not possible. That’s the state of our ‘Taib-ian’ engineering capacity.
Yes, the Opposition plans to build the TBH, but how are they going to get the funding?