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Plight of the Penan: 'Who cares?'
Published:  Nov 24, 2009 7:59 AM
Updated: Nov 24, 2009 12:01 AM

vox populi small thumbnail 'If only Malaysians as a whole would view this as a humanitarian issue, then they could fully understand the plight of the Penans. Otherwise, it is just another story for our own ‘teh tarik' sessions.'

It's not easy being a Penan

Louis: Shame on the Sarawak government. The lungfish in the Burnett and Mary river systems in Queensland (Australia) are more pampered than the Penan in Sarawak. Just for the sake of the survival of the lungfish, a dam, which would have supplied water to folks in southeast Queensland when completed, was cancelled. This really puts our government to shame.

It can blatantly parcel off the land on which the Penans have been living to be logged without duly considering the fate of these people. The Penans are not greedy people. All they want is a place to call home where they can earn an honest living.

They know the value of the timber which can be taken from their living surroundings, but they value the jungle which has sustained their simple livelihoods for generations, even more.

Sadly, those in power do not see that way. To these people, money is all that matters, come what may. They are not concerned if the jungle is bulldozed and razed to the ground and if the Penans lose their homes and livelihoods. I am ashamed that we have such people in our midst.

Ranjit Singh: This is nothing new. Trust me, this report would probably receive the least number of comments because nobody cares. After all, it is a Sarawakian issue so why should a Peninsular Malaysian be concerned about it as he or she has probably enough issues on his or her plate?

If only Malaysians as a whole would view this as a humanitarian issue, then they could fully understand the plight of the Penans. Otherwise, it is just another story for our own ‘teh tarik' sessions.

Anyway, it's good that this story is being run, demonstrating that Malaysians are not only Malays, Chinese and Indians but also the natives who have been sidelined, just like the Indians, on humanitarian issues. And this often conveniently lapses from our Peninsular-centric minds.

The solution is for every individual to work together to aid those who have been discriminated by a system that has served others well.

Maggie Lim: Every single Malaysian should care. If the government doesn't care for the minorities, then this could happen to any one of us when we become a member of a minority community. Morever, it is morally wrong to destroy the lives of these people.

DPM embarks on 7-day mission to fix MCA

Teropong Halus: There's nothing wrong with the party as a whole. The problem resides with the ‘ikan bilis' leaders, who cry to preserve positions and to gain more power - they are the ones bringing shame to MCA. If the tears coming out from their eyes are fake, what more the words coming out of the mouths.

Muhyiddin Yassin, there's a sure way to resolve this crisis. Give back to MCA all the ministerial and deputy ministerial positions taken from it the last time, starting with the position of finance minister. I think that is the crux of the problem - there are not enough cabinet seats to distribute amongst the various MCA leaders.

AliBaba: Wow, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin, are you sure you can resolve this crisis so fast? If you manage to pull it off, what can I say, MCA's leaders are all useless. They need a third party to resolve their problems for them and he manages to do it within a week.

However, if you can't resolve this crisis within a week, would you be courageous enough to resign? It looks like Umno is on Liow Tiong Lai's side.

Harry Koay: It is obvious that the other BN component parties like MIC and MCA are slaves to Umno. Ong Tee Keat, Koh Tsu Koon, Samy Vellu are Umno stooges as much as they deny this.

I cannot imagine seeing Ong Tee Keat stepping in to resolve Umno's internal problems. That would certainly result in outrage from Umno's leaders. Ong, where was your integrity when you allowed Umno's No 2 to interfere in MCA's internal matters?

Does that mean Umno's No 2 sits higher than MCA's No 1? As a Chinese Malaysian, I am ashamed of your actions, MCA. I will never vote for BN and will vote for Pakatan Rakyat until the BN government collapses.

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