'Penans will die if jungle is destroyed'

"There are no more trees in my village. They have been logged away. Now they want to plant palm oil trees in this area."

Penan village leader Unga Paren is on a mission. He wants his people to be able to continue living peacefully in their environment as they have been doing for thousands of years.

He wants all form of harassments and pressures to uproot them from the villages by the logging companies and politicians - at most times working in tandem - to stop.

He also wants assurances from the authorities to recognise and respect their native customary rights (NCR) to land and also of their tana' penurip (forests for hunting and gathering).

It is a tall order, especially when it is waged against the powerful state and dominant logging companies.

"We are only fighting for our rights. Even a child in the mother's womb has its rights," the weather-beaten Unga told Malaysiakini when met in a Penan village in Ulu Baram recently.

Unga's village is Long Bangan and he has been the village head for a long time. He is also the president of the Sarawak Penan Association, an elected position, indicating that this well-spoken 61-year-old native leader has the support of his brethrens in his war against the logging companies and the state.

Long Bangan, a village with about 600 people, is located in the Apoh-Tutoh area in Ulu Baram. It recently made news by putting up a blockade against timber and plantation companies from encroaching further into their homeland.

The blockade, erected on Aug 19, was dismantled by the police and the timber companies on Sept 16 after having failed to negotiate with Unga.

"Three rounds of negotiations failed. Not because we didn't cooperate but because they couldn't agree with what we want. Finally they used underhand tactics to remove the blockade," he said.

Bring the CM if you want...

Unga said that the blockade was not a declaration of war against the state government and the companies but "was for them to negotiate with us".

"They were logging in our areas. They were replacing our trees with oil palm trees. We did not like this but whenever we raise this matter, we are told to keep quiet. We are told that we have no rights to raise these issues.

"We, the people who have been here way before these loggers and planters, are being told that we have no rights. That's why we thought we would block their way to destroying our forest," he added.

He said that all that he sought was for a clear area to be marked as their territory and for loggers to stay out of this area. They also wanted a series of undertakings from the government to protect their native rights and a few basic facilities for them.

A high powered team consisting of elected representative for the area Lihan Jok, Miri Resident Ngenang Janggu and local police chief Jonathan Jalin had visited Unga on various occasions to get him to remove the blockade.

"I told them the same thing. Sign two documents - one to alienate the area to mark out our territory and secondly a document to guarantee us our rights and privileges.

"I told them that if they had no power to sign the documents, they should then ask the one with the authority to come, even if it is the chief minister.

Still plotting

The negotiators were not interested in signing any documents but they promised Unga many things, including money and development.

"I told them straight that money will not give us peace. I told them that they have destroyed the village by cutting away all the trees. I told them our rights are more powerful than logging concession licences... they just listened," he added.

The final round of negotiations took place on Sept 15 when once again Unga put forward his demands. State rep Lihan took off in a huff and the next day the blockade was dismantled with the help of the police.

"Sadly I wasn't around when that happened. I had to be in Miri to be with my son who was hospitalised with some unknown ailment. However I told my people not to stop anyone from dismantling the blockade if they were using force.

"I didn't want any trouble flaring and us being blamed for it all," he said, adding that the spin put forward by the authorities and the companies was that Unga had run away and the villagers had willingly removed the blockade.

Unga said he was still plotting ways to stop rampant logging in his village, including putting up more blockades to try and force the companies to enter into negotiations.

"The blockade is to protect whatever is left in our village. My village today is barren. All trees have been logged off. We don't even have trees to build houses with. There are no hills there, it's a flat land and that has made it easier for them to encroach deeper.

"We don't want our jungles to be replaced by oil palm and acacia trees. We have no trees, no stones, no sand - all gone, taken away from us," he said with a tinge of sadness and anger in his voice.

Agreements are never kept by them

Unga is fully aware that such negotiations will not stop the logging companies from continuing to log inside the Penan area.

There are many examples of such negotiations and deals being disregarded by the powerful logging companies, including what has happened at Long Pakan village.

Long Pakan's battle with a logging company started in 1989. Its chief Pada Jutang said the logging company had conducted negotiations with the villagers following a blockade set up by the villagers.

"They asked us to mark our territory, saying that they would not log inside this area. They also promised to develop some land for our housing, give a paddy farming machine and provide a road access from our village to the main logging track," he said.

An agreement to that effect was then signed in Marudi but a few years later the logging company started logging inside the Penan territory in 2006, in breach of the agreement.

"In the process they have destroyed our farms and plants. They have also failed to keep any of their promises," said Pada woefully.

Another village head, Jawa Nyipa, from Long Ajeng, said complaints made against logging companies to the district officer are always unheeded.

"The district officer's usual response is that the government has given permission to the logging companies to log and we should just leave the area," he said.

The same scenario was also repeated by Long Itam village head Balam Jun, who said that the response they got from the logging companies was that they had the licence to log wherever they wanted, even in the Penan land.

"My village is being logged from all four sides. We are boxed right in the middle of a grave of fallen trees," said Balam, adding that the logging company failed to keep an agreement not to encroach into their area.

Unga said it was the same in all Penan settlements where the logging companies will always have the upper hand over the natives.

"We are nobody for them and the government. They have total disregard for us and our rights. The logging companies look down upon us. They have no intention of helping us. They see us as enemies," he said.

What is development?

He also gets agitated when informed that Penans are labelled as being anti-development, asking in turn whose yardstick was being used to define development.

"Is clearing the jungle and destroying the Penan lifestyle development? How about providing us with basic amenities so that we too can enjoy life? How about giving us schools so that our children need not travel several hours to attend classes, and in the process being vulnerable to sexual predators?"

"The government and logging companies think its only money. In fact the state government says it has allocated RM2.7 million for the Penans. Where did that money go? Come and visit us in our villages and you will see what we really need," he challenged.

He accused the state government of putting the money into two or three showcase Penan villages so that the tourists can be fooled into thinking this community was well taken care by the government.

"It's all rubbish. The chief minister himself calls us pendatang (outsiders). We are still having troubles getting national identity cards.

"Maybe there is a conspiracy here to deny us the MyKads. We can then be labelled as illegals and be thrown out and then all the jungles in Sarawak will be cleared," he said, but quickly adding that he hopes he'd be proven wrong on that.

When asked what was the ideal solution for the problems faced by the Penans, Unga was quick and firm in stating: "Revoke the logging licences, recognise our traditional areas and let us live as we want".

"This jungle is everything for us. Our lives depend on it. We are rich because of this jungle and poor if it isn't there. The jungle is our supermarket and bank.

"If logging continues and our jungle is destroyed, the Penans will die. It will be the end of us."

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'Troublemaker Penans' find it difficult to get ICs

Tomorrow: Penans rue the day the loggers came

[Photos by Maran Perianen]