Photo: http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=128722KUCHING: About 500 villagers from 10 Bidayuh villages in Tebedu on Sunday 8 May burnt seven heavy machinery, four lorries and five logging camps after their elected representative Michael Manyin and the Police failed to look into their complaints.
The value of the destroyed properties believed to be worth several millions of ringgit.
Last month they met Manyin and lodged a number of Police reports regarding a certain timber company allegedly encroached into their native customary rights land.
Instead of peacefully settling the issue, Manyin who was recently elected as the representative of Tebedu said that when the problem was reported to him he was told that the villagers initially rejected their land being used for road construction.
According to Manyin, when the company offered them lucrative compensation, the villagers agreed and the only ‘trouble makers’ were the ones whose land was not affected.
He said: “They were not part of the group that received RM40 per square metre compensation for land affected to build the timber road, and they demonstrated by blocking the access road.
“They also destroyed a timber bridge,” he said.
But Manyin’s statement was hotly disputed by Bisa Duda, a spokesman of the villagers who demanded Manyin to apologise to them.
His statement that they were not offered the lucrative compensation was considered by the villagers as “insulting and embarrassing”.
Bisa said that the villagers were not interested in the compensation as they do not want the company to encroach into their NCR land.
“We are not after the money. We do not want the company to use our land and the jungle in our area as these are our ancestral properties,” Bisa said.
He accused Manyin of telling lies as the villagers never agreed to and allowed their land to be used for the construction of the timber road.He said: “They were not part of the group that received RM40 per square metre compensation for land affected to build the timber road, and they demonstrated by blocking the access road.
“They also destroyed a timber bridge,” he said.
But Manyin’s statement was hotly disputed by Bisa Duda, a spokesman of the villagers who demanded Manyin to apologise to them.
His statement that they were not offered the lucrative compensation was considered by the villagers as “insulting and embarrassing”.
Bisa said that the villagers were not interested in the compensation as they do not want the company to encroach into their NCR land.
“We are not after the money. We do not want the company to use our land and the jungle in our area as these are our ancestral properties,” Bisa said.
When contacted today, one of the leaders who did not want to be identified said that they had to take the law into their own hands as their elected representative and the authorities failed to safeguard their interests.
They had failed to stop the logging activities and the villagers could not tolerate it any more.
“We have made several reports to the authorities and yet the logging activities still continue,” he said, pointing out that their crops, fruit trees and their land have been destroyed.
He also said that they had warned the workers to stop the logging activities, but they simply ignored their warning.
“We really mean business,” he said.
Serian Police Chief ASP Awangku Ahmaddin Awang Wang who was present at the scene was not available for comment.
It is not certain whether anyone has been arrested.
