KUCHING – The Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) wants the manipulation and violation of the native rights in Sarawak to be brought to the attention of a United Nation Convention to be held next month in Copenhagen.
“SADIA is not invited to the convention, but please help us to highlight the manipulation and violation of our native rights by timber and plantation companies in Sarawak,” said SADIA President Sidi Munan.
He made the appeal after briefing a high powered delegation from Bangladesh on problems affecting the indigenous people of Sarawak at the SADIA headquarters on Wednesday afternoon (11 Nov 2009).
As guests of the association, the 11-member delegation was in Kuching to study problems faced by the indigenous people in the State.
Led by State Minister Dipankar Talukdar, the delegation which included Members of Parliament, a judge and an UNDP representative had met native leaders in Sabah and Orang Asli in the peninsula for a similar fact finding mission. They will proceed to Jakarta and West Kalimantan on Friday.
Sidi said: “Since your country is going to attend the convention, please help us to highlight problems, the violation, manipulation and exploitation of our native rights which have become very acute in the last five years by plantation and timber companies.
“Not only our catchment areas and our rivers have been polluted, our NCR lands have also been encroached into. Many of our natives have been arrested and jailed for defending their land and their rights,” he added.
He said: “In the meantime, the natives have taken their cases to court, but for their cases to be solved, it would take one year to 10 years. And by that time, there is nothing left of native rights. Thus, the only way open for them is to put up blockades against these companies.”
Sidi said SADIA has been trying to help by highlighting and bringing to the attention of international bodies regarding the problems faced by the natives.
Speaking on behalf of delegation, Dipankar Talukdar said that not much was known about the natives of Sarawak but after they had been briefed and seen a documentary film on the plight of the natives they were now enriching their knowledge.
“Exploitation of natives is a world-wide phenomenon and nobody pays any attention to them,” he said, adding that his country did not have such a problem now as the present government’s policy to help the indigenous people was supported by the majority of the non-indigenous people.
“But let us all, the indigenous people of the world be united in order to ensure a better future,” he said.
After the briefing, they left for a longhouse, Kampung Temiang in Simunjan, where they stayed for the night.
(Note: The story was first published by The Malaysian Mirror and it is reproduced here for the readers of The Broken Shield)
“SADIA is not invited to the convention, but please help us to highlight the manipulation and violation of our native rights by timber and plantation companies in Sarawak,” said SADIA President Sidi Munan.
He made the appeal after briefing a high powered delegation from Bangladesh on problems affecting the indigenous people of Sarawak at the SADIA headquarters on Wednesday afternoon (11 Nov 2009).
As guests of the association, the 11-member delegation was in Kuching to study problems faced by the indigenous people in the State.
Led by State Minister Dipankar Talukdar, the delegation which included Members of Parliament, a judge and an UNDP representative had met native leaders in Sabah and Orang Asli in the peninsula for a similar fact finding mission. They will proceed to Jakarta and West Kalimantan on Friday.
Sidi said: “Since your country is going to attend the convention, please help us to highlight problems, the violation, manipulation and exploitation of our native rights which have become very acute in the last five years by plantation and timber companies.
“Not only our catchment areas and our rivers have been polluted, our NCR lands have also been encroached into. Many of our natives have been arrested and jailed for defending their land and their rights,” he added.
He said: “In the meantime, the natives have taken their cases to court, but for their cases to be solved, it would take one year to 10 years. And by that time, there is nothing left of native rights. Thus, the only way open for them is to put up blockades against these companies.”
Sidi said SADIA has been trying to help by highlighting and bringing to the attention of international bodies regarding the problems faced by the natives.
Speaking on behalf of delegation, Dipankar Talukdar said that not much was known about the natives of Sarawak but after they had been briefed and seen a documentary film on the plight of the natives they were now enriching their knowledge.
“Exploitation of natives is a world-wide phenomenon and nobody pays any attention to them,” he said, adding that his country did not have such a problem now as the present government’s policy to help the indigenous people was supported by the majority of the non-indigenous people.
“But let us all, the indigenous people of the world be united in order to ensure a better future,” he said.
After the briefing, they left for a longhouse, Kampung Temiang in Simunjan, where they stayed for the night.
(Note: The story was first published by The Malaysian Mirror and it is reproduced here for the readers of The Broken Shield)
4 comments:
Why Sidi is talking in different tune now?
He should go back to PRS to support Masing in developing NCR land as it benefits the land owners.
Why Sidi is talking now about polluted water, encroachment into NCR land and indigenous people were arrested for defending their NCR land?
I can still remember that sometimes in February this year, BN youth wanted to hold dialogue sessions on land matters and would invite SDNU and SADIA to participate. Its leader Fadillah Yusof said the BN youth was to clarify the issue on NCL, because the BN government was a caring one and there was no such thing that it wanted to take away their land, let alone cheating the people.
SDNU and SADIA then insisted that these two NGOs to be included in land issue discussions as it involved social and economic issues as well as the Dayak culture.
Until today, I did not see any report on this dialogue sessions. Why? Could it meant that there was no such land issue discussions and the BN youth came up with the press statement because of other motive? SDNU annd SADIA are also silent.
Was there any such dialogue or none at all?
Boss,
Tks
I have read about it earlier on.
Anyway let the other readers get to read the material for the benefit of all loving ppl to ensure that the challenge the peace loving natives of Sarawak are not swept under the carpet by their own ppl to propogate their own vested interests.
The natives continued to be harressed by the authoritities and yet the Dayak leaders did not even lift a finger to "manggum and ngelua ke pemedis and pemerinsa di-nat ke bala Daya di Sarawak". Infact, anytime the Dayak-related issues were raised by other non-natives, the first to rebut and to admonish them are the Dayaks themselves.
It is sad is is not, boss?
Jamal Jarjis, Jr.
Dear Mr. Suntat.
Sidi munan probably has repented. maybe now he realized that the gate of hell is awaiting / open to the unrepent,corrupted and greedy soul.
Good for you. Mr. Sidi Munan. Behold and repent. Show that you are genuinely concerned.
to be continued.........
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