It is an all too-familiar tale. Orang Ulu villagers in Ulu Baram, Sarawak, were promised bumper economic benefits if they gave up their native customary rights (NCR) land for oil palm plantations.

It was such a sweet promise and the natives agreed to the deal with a Peninsular Malaysia-based company. These natives were given a 30-percent equity in the project.

The local natives also played a vital role in ensuring that the plantation project took off. They undertook the contracts for clearing, planting, weeding and fertilising the plantation.

Three years have passed and the developer of the 900 acres of NCR land in Long Urun, Ulu Baram - in the remote northeastern part of Sarawak - have started harvesting the palm oil, the 'golden crop' which is fetching record high prices.

But the local natives have yet to see the promised profits. Neither have they been paid for the contract works they undertook to kick start the plantation.

"We are owed a total of about RM500,000 for doing work which is now giving financial benefits to the company," said Eric William Usun ( photo ).

He is the former chairperson of the joint committee looking after the interests of more than 10 Orang Ulu longhouses, mostly Kenyah, in the area.

When malaysiakini visited the longhouse people in Urun near Bakun recently, the villagers spoke with anger at the way they were being treated.

"I really regret we did the deal with the company and we want to take the land back and do it ourselves," added Usun.

He said that the members of the village joint committee have had various meetings and sought advice from a few people on getting back their money and land.

Threat to strike

Usun's wife Linda Galang ( left ) is one of the affected contractors and is owed more than RM100,000 for work done.

"We've written at least two letters to the authorities and a third and final letter is on the way," said Usun.

"If no action is taken to pay us, we'll have to take serious actions, including stopping trucks from taking the fruits out from our NCR land,' he added.

"We're issuing them with a final warning that if no action is taken then we will be compelled to strike to ensure they cannot take the harvested crop out to sell to a mill," he said.

The company was not immediately available for comment, but malaysiakini understands that those who had been dealing with the native contractors were no longer around.