| Press Release | Recognise Indigenous Minority Rights and Take Immediate Action to Address the Unfulfilled Promises Made to the Penan and Kenyah Communities in Murum |
| Thursday, 07 August 2014 11:10am | |
 Please click here to download the report of the Bar Council's study trip to the Metalun and Tegulang Resettlement Areas in Murum, Sarawak.
The
Bar Council, through its Committee on Orang Asli Rights and Human
Rights Committee, undertook a study trip to the Metalun and Tegulang
Resettlement Areas in Murum, Sarawak from 17 to 23 May 2014. The
primary purpose of the trip was to study the post-relocation conditions
of the Penan and Kenyah native communities, which had been displaced by
the construction of the Murum Dam.
The
road journey to the Resettlement Areas is hazardous, as the roads turn
muddy and swampy. The journey from these Resettlement Areas to Bintulu
or Miri can thus take approximately 12 to 16 hours. Travelling to
school also becomes treacherous. These factors contribute to the
challenge and isolation of life in the Resettlement Areas.
At
the Universal Periodic Review of human rights in Malaysia conducted by
the United Nations Human Rights Council in October 2013, the Government
of Malaysia made several statements in respect of the communities
relocated as a result of the Murum Dam construction.1
However, it is regrettable that the situation on the ground differs
significantly from the seemingly positive statements made by the
Government. For example:
(a)
The promised land allocation of 15 hectares has yet to materialise.
The Penan and Kenyah communities are unable to begin meaningful
agricultural activity because of this uncertainty. Since most of the
surrounding land is under the control of palm oil plantation companies,
it is difficult to see how sufficient banks of land near to the
resettlement areas could be found;
(b)
The Penan and Kenyah communities are being deprived of the provision in
full of the promised monthly food supplies of RM600 per month per
household. No genuine attempt has been made to explain the shortfall,
nor has the shortfall been rectified;
(c)
The housing prepared for the Penan and Kenyah communities has been
constructed out of poor quality materials and with poor workmanship.
Cracks and other damage are already apparent after a mere six to eight
months;
(d) Promises of adequate furnishing of the houses in the Resettlement Areas have not been fulfilled;
(e)
Promises of diesel subsidies to help children commute to school have
not been kept. Consequently, some children have to make their way to
school in small perahu via the river, which is dangerous, especially when there is heavy rain;
(f)
Ironically, despite having been relocated for the purposes of
constructing the Murum Dam, which will provide hydroelectric power to
the state of Sarawak, the community in Tegulang Resettlement Area
receives 12 hours of electricity per day via a diesel-powered generator
set. The Metalun Resettlement Area community receives only six hours of
electricity per day via the same method; and
(g)
Job opportunities for the Penans and Kenyahs in or around the
Resettlement Areas are scarce or non-existent. Most of the surrounding
timber and palm oil companies hire foreign labour.
In
short, rather than experiencing “an immediate and substantial
improvement in living standards, better access to basic human rights to
education and health care, and better economic opportunities, whilst
preserving their cultural identities and traditions”, the affected
communities have been displaced and left desolate. Their living
conditions are deplorable and their livelihood has been decimated. In
spite of this, there appears to be no sense of urgency in remedying or
rectifying the situation. The standard response when officials from
Sarawak Energy Berhad visit the area is one of indifference or
callousness. The Penan and Kenyah communities are simply told that they
would have to refer the matter to the “pegawai atasan” in Miri or Bintulu, which is 12 to 16 hours away by road.
Despite
some consultation having taken place with the affected communities, the
Sarawak Government has clearly shown that it has ignored the principles
of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
(“UNDRIP”), which calls for the free, prior and informed consent (and
not just consultation) of the affected communities.
This
shameful state of affairs exemplifies the broader challenges faced by
Malaysian indigenous minorities in protecting their rights and
fundamental liberties as indigenous peoples. In Peninsular Malaysia,
there has been no effective legislative or executive action to recognise
the customary rights of Orang Asli to their lands, resources and
territories despite there being more than a decade of judicial
pronouncements by the Malaysian superior courts legally recognising
these rights. Moreover, Federal and State Governments persistently
attempt to contest, reverse or ignore binding precedent and
jurisprudence laid down in landmark Orang Asli cases such as Adong bin Kuwau v Kerajaan Negeri Johor and Sagong bin Tasi v Kerajaan Negeri Selangor.
The laudatory and humane principles established in these cases are,
time and again, more honoured in the breach than in the observance.
A
disturbing recent development is the Malaysian Government’s lack of
support for recommendations, made during Malaysia’s 2013 Universal
Periodic Review, for it to implement the principles contained in UNDRIP.
This contains express provisions calling for the recognition of the
rights of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources
and the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous communities in
matters affecting indigenous lands, rights and resources. Earlier in
2006 and 2007, the Malaysian Government had unreservedly voted for
UNDRIP, proclaiming the Declaration “as a standard of achievement to be
pursued in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect”. It is
inexplicable that the Malaysian Government appears to have reneged on
its UNDRIP pledge to the international community, and perhaps more
importantly, to its indigenous minority citizenry.
As
we commemorate International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9
August 2014, the Malaysian Bar strongly urges the Malaysian Government
to immediately honour its commitment to implement UNDRIP domestically,
and to give full effect to the Malaysian courts’ recognition of the
customary land and resource rights of indigenous minorities.
The
Malaysian Bar also calls upon the Sarawak Government and its agency,
Sarawak Energy Berhad, to immediately address the situation at hand.
They have had many years to prepare for the resettlement during the
period of the construction of the Murum Dam, and yet most of the
infrastructure provided to the Penan and Kenyah communities seem to have
been hurried and last-minute, with many issues remaining unresolved and
many promises still unfulfilled. The life that they have been forced
to accept is clearly not sustainable, is unacceptable by any decent
standards, and will in the long term lead to a culture of continued
dependency on the government. Genuine regard must be shown for the
well-being of the affected Penan and Kenyah communities.
Indeed,
the inalienable right of all our indigenous peoples to free, prior and
informed choice as to their future and their way of life, must be
genuinely recognised and respected.
Steven Thiru
Vice-President
Malaysian Bar
7 August 2014
1 It declared, inter alia, at paragraphs 135 to 137 of the Report of the Working Group that:
Source: Malaysian Bar Website |
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