Barely days after solving a problem between loggers and Bidayuh villagers in the Lundu District, Iban longhouse dwellers in Baram at the other end of Sarawak, have complained about polluted drinking water to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

"Such complaints (being brought to our attention) is quite rare but complaints about (encroachment into) Native Customary Land (NCL) are quite common," said Sarawak-based Suhakam commissioner Dr Muhammad Ritom Abdullah today.

"This is the first complaint about water supply problem we have received, although we have complaints about pollution of rivers caused by logging in Baram," he added.

The complaint from the 96-door Rumah Sedu blamed the on-going construction work in their area for the problem. A resort company is currently developing a 10-acre agro-tourism project there.

The longhouse dwellers alleged that the work has disturbed their only source of fresh drinking water and could adversely affect their health in the long run.

'Poison' being used

"The villagers claim that poison is used to destroy the trees and this has contaminated their only source of drinking water," said Ritom, adding that villagers have also complained of skin irritation caused by the water, which has turned reddish.

A representative of the longhouse Rayong Umeh went to the Suhakam office in Kuching earlier this week to hand the letter of complaint to Ritom and another commissioner Prof Dr Hamdan Adnan.

Malaysiakini was told that some villagers were detained briefly by the police when they tried to stop the project. Efforts to obtain a court injunction to stop the construction work have also been unsuccessful.

Ritom said most rural villages in Sarawak depend on gravity feed water supply systems built with help from the Medical Department.

"Water is, of course, very basic to human life, more important than electricity," he stressed.

The commissioner said Suhakam will send a team to the area in early February to check on the matter.

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini 's Sarawak-based stringer.