Several longhouse and village community work groups in Sarawak are now joining forces to defend and fight for their rights, especially native customary rights (NCR) land and human rights as more industries head into the interior and increasing number of traditional villages or longhouses have to give way for logging, reforestration and plantation activities.

One such group is known as the Pengator Rakyat Jeringan Sarawak (PR Jeringan). Its leader, Sem Kiong Angin (photo) from Belaga, described it as "a network of grassroots-level community organisations doing work at village level and trying to highlight land and rights issues."

Sem also heads his own group known as the Indigenous People Development Centre (IPDC).

The initial partners in PR Jeringan comprise the Kuching/Samarahan-based Panggau, Sibu-based Nyi, another Sibu-based Paputan, Belaga's Potengan Udip (PU), the Indigenous People Development Centre and the Miri-based Persatuan Dayak Bakong Tinjar (PDBT).

More applying

"A few more grassroots-level community groups are applying to join us," Sem told malaysiakini today.

At present, its various member components represent the Iban, Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah and Malay communities. "We hope some Chinese groups will also come forward and join the network," he said.

Apart from Sem as chairman, the secretary is Ahmad Awang Ali (right) from Panggau, which is concerned with issues surrounding the use of native customary rights lands for large plantation projects in the Kuching and Samarahan areas. The treasurer is Enterong Mito of Bukit Peninjau, Miri.

PR Jeringan already held "no less than 10 meetings within the past three years, as individual groups coming together to discuss issues of common interest."

According to Sem, it was only in the last two years that much thought was given to forming themselves into a bigger network "as we are all basically dealing with the same issues - land and human rights."

One of its priorities is to get the network formally registered as a society.

"We are now drawing up the draft constitution," Sem said, adding that at the same time the network is addressing some immediate issues, including those indigenous communities left behind in various areas following the resettlement of the rest at Sungai Asap with the implementation of the Bakun Dam as well as natives affected by oil palm schemes in Kuching, Belaga and Miri.

Unresolved dam issues

According to Sem, about 170 families in four locales (Batu Kalo, Long Bulan, Long Lawun and Long Jawe) have remained behind in the resettlement of some 10,000 people affected by the Bakun Dam .

"Their interests and their situation need to be looked into as well. We are less concerned with those who have resettled at Sungai Asap."

"Of those who have remained some, for example, have still not received their compensation from the authorities," he said, adding that this will be one area that PR Jeringan will be looking into.

Meanwhile, one of the PR Jeringan committee member Nelson Janggai (right) from Bukit Peninjau who relocated from Batang Ai Dam in Sri Aman Division told malaysiakini that although the 600mw Batang Ai Dam was completed a long time ago, some of the natives had still not received their compensations in full.

He also said that about 1000 people who wanted to go back to their original NCR land which was not flooded after the project was completed had not been able to get permission from the authorities to do so.

"The authorities say the land that they once lived on for generations and left when the dam was being built is no longer NCR land, even though it is not flooded ," he added.

According to Nelson, every family affected by the Batang Ai Dam was given a three-acre piece. He said this is hardly enough for farming.

"So when they see their old land is not used for the dam and is not flooded they want to go back and claim their NCR rights back," he said, adding that instead they are told the land is state land and not NCR land anymore.

A Kuching-based lawyer who is familiar with the Sarawak Land Code, especially the provisions on NCR land, told malaysiakini that once land-owners have agreed to accept compensation and given up their NCR land and moved to a new resettlement area as part of a package deal with the government, "to all intents and purposes the land they left behind has reverted to state land and is not subject to claims as NCR land because compensation has been made and taken."

Space getting less

Baram-based Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) field officer Jok Jau said recently that increased logging and plantation acreage as well as the gazetting of protected forests in the Baram district has meant "so much less space for the indigenous groups to move around for farming and fishing within their traditional grounds."

He said because of their concern over this, many of the native longhouses had applied for communal forests for them to freely collect wood and other jungle produce for their own needs. "But not a single application for communal reserve has been granted," he claimed.

The Kuching lawyer also explained that the natives could still apply to the authorities for permission to go into protected forests to collect timber for their own domestic use. "The only difference is that in the case of communal forests they don't need permission to go in and take timber out," he added.

The issues on NCR land and human rights are being increasingly highlighted by non-governmental groups (NGOs) in Sarawak who have created more than an ire on the part of the state government.

"What is certain is that the issues can be expected to be constantly highlighted now that the grassroot-level community work groups are getting together under a larger network to deal with them and the authorities," Nelson said.

"It provides a glimmer of hope for human rights and justice for the rural community," he added.