After the natives protested strongly on the ground, took their complaints to the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and highlighted the case in the media, a logging company finally agreed to back off from continuing to work on native customary land (NCL) in Kampung Raso 1 and Kampung Raso 2 between Bau and Lundu, about 40km from Kuching.

But damage had already been done.

Before an agreement was reached on Tuesday, the timber company Malay Star's contractors from Sibu had already entered the two Bidayuh villages' NCL and, despite protests and complaints, had hundreds of engkabang or illepenut trees (a protected species) removed for timber.

The villagers told malaysiakini during a recent visit that the company had not only failed or refused to make any form of compensation for cutting the trees down but had also deprived them of an important source of income on a regular basis.

One family in Raso 2 reported that they had lost 99 engkabang and durian trees.

The harvesting of engkabang fruits, once every two years, is a much awaited affair in rural Sarawak as it brings an income of about RM7,000 for each family bi-annually. Illepenuts are exported for its oil which is used for making perfume and chocolates.

Last year when the logging company came in with bulldozers, the villagers tried to stop them working on NCL land and they even turned to night logging to avoid contact with the natives.

When appeals to state authorities appeared to fall on deaf ears, the frustrated villagers decided to ask Suhakam to intervene and put a stop to logging on NCL. They also approached opposition Sarawak Reform Party (Star) leader Dr Patau Rubis to highlight their case.

In a statement, Suhakam commissioner Prof Dr Hamdan Adnan said at a recent dialogue that the company had agreed to stop further logging on NCL.

In a meeting involving government officials earlier in Kuching, land and survey officials confirmed that the land on which the logging company had been working on at the edge of the villages were NCL.

The company had also been asked to make compensation for the trees they had removed not at government rates but on rates reflecting the value of such timber in the market.

Visiting the villages

Hamdan said Suhakam would be visiting the villages at a later stage to ascertain whether the company, which is said to have been given rights to extract logs over a 5000-acre area, had complied with the agreement, including paying compensation to the villagers.

It is understood that the villagers are prepared to take the case to court if the contractors should fail to 'reasonable compensate' them.

Meanwhile, Patau told malaysiakini that the Raso case should be an 'eye-opener' for state leaders who should be more respectful of the rights of natives over their lands.

"With Christmas and the New Year coming it is hoped our state leaders will be more generous and be more mindful of what rightly belongs to the natives," he added.

Lawyers handling NCL dispute cases in areas across Sarawak where logging, reforestation and oil palm plantation activities are being carried out say there are about 100 cases before the courts, mostly in Kuching and Miri.

Patau said, "I know for a fact there are several such cases around Kuching where NCL owners are fighting companies entering their land and either taking timber out or planting oil palm."