Rep: Demolished sea nomad houses built in gazetted marine park

The recent demolishing of stilt houses inhabited by the Pala’u community, also known as sea nomads, was carried out as they were built in the gazetted area of the Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

Sulabayan assemblyperson Jaujan Sambakong said the area, in Southeastern Sabah, has certain laws that have been gazetted.

Meant to protect marine life, he said the law prohibits trespassing or the construction of any buildings in the area.

However, he said the Pala’u, also known as Bajau Laut, are a nomadic group and are protected by the United Nations in terms of human rights.

He added that they were in the country’s waters before Independence and, as such, an alternative should have been looked into to help them before enforcement was carried out.

“What more when there are claims that their temporary abode and their boats were also burned. Such actions are not appropriate and will only tarnish the image of Semporna in the eyes of the world,” Jaujan said.

“I urge that we look for a win-win solution,” he told Bernama.

Several video clips went viral recently showing stilt houses of the Pala’u being demolished, in addition to other video clips showing the houses going up in flames.

Meanwhile, Jaujan said he once had a conversation with a German tourist who was impressed with the beauty of marine life in Semporna and also praised the existence of the nomadic group as a tourist attraction.

“Foreign tourists are very keen on marine activities, they are also attracted to the nomadic group’s way of life. If possible, let’s come up with a win-win situation, one that benefits the government, the tourists, and the Pala’u community.

“They are skilled sea-men, able to dive for 10 minutes without any equipment,” he said.

The Pala’u community do not have any citizenship and lives nomadically around the waters of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

- Bernama

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