Sarawak police and the authorities were today urged to carry out immediate investigations into alleged acts of arson against a longhouse chief who is at the centre of a dispute involving native customary rights land.

Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia (Brimas) executive director Mark Bujang said police should view the incident seriously and tackle it before matters escalated.

“Brimas demands the police and authorities look into this incident seriously as we do not want another bloody incident or loss of life to happen,” he said when commenting on a fire that nearly destroyed a house at Taman Jelita in Miri on Sunday night.

The house is owned by Tuai Rumah Jambai Anak Jeli, who is at the centre of a dispute with an oil palm plantation company over claims to native customary rights land at the Sibuti sub-district in Miri.

This is the second incident involving Jambai with the first in December last year when his car was torched by unknown persons.

Mark condemned the “acts of violence and intimidation” being done in order to frighten Iban villagers from five longhouses in Sibuti into surrendering the rights so their land could be exploited for commercial purposes.

Mark said said the dispute between the Ibans and the plantation company was escalating to a ‘dangerous level,’ adding: “If the authorities do not investigate, then do not blame the Iban villagers if they retaliate and take the law into their own hands.”

‘Gangsters being employed’

Media reports say Jambai and his family were away at their longhouse at Sungai Bekelit, Sibuti when fire ravaged his house at Taman Jelita in Miri.

They quoted him as saying his neighbours - alerted by the sounds of breaking glass - managed to put out the fire in time to save the house. Three broken bottles were found at the scene. Jambai has since lodged a police report.

Jambai said he believed gangsters were being used to intimidate him and the residents of the five longhouses at Sungai Bekelit, Sungai Serunggut and Sungai Kelitang in Sibuti to surrender their native customary rights (NCR) land.

Mark ( above ) said the suspected arson attack on Jambai’s house comes amidst a legal suit filed by the Ibans against an oil palm plantation company for trespassing onto their land at Sungai Bekelit, Sungai Serunggut and Sungai Kelitang which the former claim to be their NCR land.

The matter is pending at the Miri High Court, he said.