PKR women accuse gov’t, police inaction

KUCHING: Sarawak PKR women throw a scathing attack against the government and the Police for being inaction against the perpetrators of rapes on the Penan women and girls.

“The inaction of the Police, the state and federal governments has encouraged the prepreetractors who are mostly timber workers to commit more rapes,” said Voon Shiak Ni, national vice-president of PKR women wing.

She said: “Since the last report made three years ago in which 14 rape cases against the Penan girls were reported, seven more new cases have surfaced.

“The latest rape case was reported last Monday by a 20-year old Penan woman who alleged that an Indonesian man she knew had repeatedly raped her after coaxing her into following him to the city in the pretext of finding work,” she said.

The woman also told the Police that there had been similar rapes involving other Penan girls in her village, said Voon.

She said that several reports made by a number of taskforces of non-governmental organisations together with suggestions and recommendations had been submitted to the government, the Police, relevant government agencies, the ministry of women, family and community development and even to Rosmah Mansor, the wife of the prime minister.

“Up to now no one has been charged or investigated by the Police though the ministry taskforce report and the NGO task force report on the allegations of rape by timber loggers confirmed the incidents of rapes,” Voon said.

On remarks made by the newly elected state assemblyman for Telang Usan Dennis Ngau, Voon said that positive steps and actions expected to be taken to redress the issue were long overdue.

“Not only the opposition parties had called for investigations, but the civil society including women NGOs in Sarawak had made numerous statements calling for police investigations and government attention on the matter,” she said.

Following the report made last Monday, Ngau was reported to have admitted that there had been a surge in the number of foreigners in the interior because of the expansion of oil palm plantations and logging activities.

He said he would hold an urgent dialogue with the plantation and logging companies to the discuss the matter.

Ngau also announced that the Barisan Nasional is going to set up a taskforce again to look into the plight of the Penan women to show that the government is serious in fighting against rapes involving Penan women and girls.

Voon said: “Our question is - is there a necessity to set up another taskforce upon another taskforce when rapes are still continuing and ruining the lives of the Penan girls and women?

“Have the government intervened yet to see to the prevention of the crimes inflicted upon them?” she asked.

The government, she said, should have looked into suggestions and recommendations made by various taskforces when the issue of rapes surfaced three years ago.

Voon said that the Penan rape issue is not about prosecuting the culprits only, it is about making the right the system and structure in respect of transportation for the Penan children, looking into the logging activities, the impact of the influx of male workers, on the living conditions of the native community, their women and children.

“It also includes how to provide for the survivors of rapes and the children born out of the rapes,” she added.

“All the recommendations outlined to reduce the vulnerability of the Penan community and to improve on the living conditions are contained in the two taskforce reports.

“These reports have been delivered by us to Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, (Minister of Women, Family and community Development), Alfred Jabu, (Deputy Chief Minister), James Masing, (Land Development Minister), Rosmah Mansor, (wife of Prime Minister), Fatimah Abdullah, (minister in the chief minister department), women bureau and even to the education department.

“It is the inaction of the government that allows rapes to continue to plague the Penan community,” Voon said, calling on the government to act on the matter immediately.

“PKR women challenge Dennis Ngau to bring up the issue in the coming sitting of the state assembly,” she said.

Meanwhile, Nurhanim Mokshan, head of Sarawak PKR women wing criticized Fadillah Yusof, Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) youth chief for his failure to look into the plight of the Penan women and girls who complained of being raped again and again.

Fadillah was the one who promised to set up a taskforce to collate information about the alleged rapes of Penan women and girls in an effort to assist police to prosecute the culprits.

He had said that the PBB youth was informed by the police that action could not be taken after the issue because the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who highlighted the issue did not want to share their information.

He also said that these NGOs claimed to have the details but they did not want to share their findings with the police, so it was difficult for the police to act.

In view of that, the PBB youth wing had decided to form a fact-finding taskforce.

“If we found out that there are evidences that such incidents did happen, I myself would lodge a Police report,” said Fadillah, who is also deputy minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Commenting on Fadillah’s remarks, Nurhanim asked: “Why are rapes continuing to happen again and again?

“What are the police doing about it?” she asked.

“I also want to know the progress report of Fadillah’s taskforce. We have not heard anything at all about his taskforce,” she said, asking Fadillah to walk the talk.

Expressing her regrets, she said that another rape case has been reported and she wanted to know what action is Fadillah’s taskforce is doing about it.

“We want Fadillah to answer it. He is the one who pledged to do it,” she said.

She said that PKR on its part had submitted memorandum to various authorities including Rosmah Mansor, wife of the prime minister.

"It is most regrettable that until today nothing has been done about the plight of the Penan women and girls. After all, the Penans are also Malaysian citizens and they too need police protection,” Nurhanim added.

Penan rape cases, who else to be blamed?

KUCHING – During the debate on the Supply (2010) Bill last Friday, Violent Yong (DAP-Pending) said that Alfred Jabu should be stripped off his position as minister-in-charge of Penan Affairs, charging that the minister has shown no compassion for victims of rapes and sexual abuse, but instead exhibited prejudice and insensitivity.

“The people want an answer. Who is the Barisan Nasional (BN) government protecting? Is the BN government trying to protect the logging companies who hired these rapists?

“Instead of spearheading the investigation when the rapes on the Penan girls and women were brought up, there was an outcry of denial from all quarters as rapists roamed the jungles free. Instead, the NGOs that broke the story ended up being the guilty one,” Yong said.

She also claimed the government was trying to sweep the issue under the carpet with accusations that the reports were lies, calling the Penans good storytellers and asking newspapers to check their facts, and branding certain NGOs as liars and trouble makers.

In his winding speech on Tuesday, Jabu hit back, saying that the opposition has stepped on dangerous waters when politicizing the Penan issue by manufacturing lies and twisting facts.

“I know they manufactured lies and twisted the facts. They based them on hearsay. They do not know anything about the Penans, let alone where they live. They do not speak Penan,” he said.

Comment: Jetty fully agrees with Jabu that the Opposition members know very little about the Penans and their way of life. They started to know about the Penans after stories of blockades and rapes and sexual abuse were published. Of course nobody from the Opposition can beat Jabu.

Jabu is one of those who fully understand the Penans, their culture and their way of life. Jabu’s knowledge of the Penans started way back in 1960s when he was appointed Divisional Agriculture Officer, Limbang and later Divisional Agriculture Officer, Miri.

From Miri he went to Sibu where he was appointed Regrouping and Resettlement Officer with RASCOM (Rajang Security Command) during the height of communist activities in the State, before he resigned in 1974 to contest in a by-election.

During his tenure as Agriculture Officer, Jabu visited every nook and corner of Limbang, Miri and Belaga where he met Kayans, Kenyahs, Ibans, Berawans, Kelabits, Lun Bawang and including Penans.

In those days (and even today) many government officers (including Tuan Resident, Tuan DO, and Tuan Kunsil) took advantage of the innocent native girls and some continued to have affairs with them, resulting in some women giving birth to fatherless children.

As a young reporter with the Information Department (from 1965 to 1975), Jetty used to follow Ministers and these officers to the remote areas of Sarawak and saw with his own eyes what happened there. Some officers even abused their positions by doing things that were not official such as hunting wild boars, fishing semah and empurau and shooting punai (wild pigeons).

It looks like those perpetrators of rape and sexual abuse do not confine to timber workers only. Who else to be blamed? - The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

Ng says Jabu should resign as minister

KUCHING: A State PKR leader Dominique Ng has described as farcical and negligent, the attempted denial by some senior Sarawak cabinet members, especially Alfred Jabu anak Numpang, a Deputy Chief Minister, of the findings of a federal report confirming the occurrence of rape against Penan girls in 2008.

“Jabu who is the minister responsible of Penan affairs should resign from all his posts to take full responsibility for the whole debacle which has now brought tremendous shame to the people of Sarawak,” said Ng, who is the state assemblyman for Padungan.

“The whole cabinet should tender an apology to the Penan people of Sarawak,” he stressed, when commenting on the reports of rape and sexual abuse against Penan girls and women.

He added: “The State government should immediately release the long overdue report in its entirety. It must give a just account to all the people of Sarawak and Malaysia.

“Police and court action must immediately proceed to return justice to the victims and their families,” he said, pointing out that the Police must be seen to be effective in combating crime, and public confidence in the criminal justice system in Sarawak must be restored and promoted by due promptness and effectiveness of the relevant authorities in action.

“The persecution and the sorry plight of the indigenous people of Sarawak occur repeatedly and this is a situation that cannot be tolerated by all decent Malaysians.

“State cabinet ministers concerned should be ashamed of their futile attempts to camouflage the commission of such insidious crimes against our own Sarawak people.

The international reputation of our beloved Nation and State has been severely compromised,” he said.

The occurrence of rape of the Penan girls was raised by Ng in the Dewan Undangan Negeri, Sarawak, during its November 2008 sitting after the initial exposure by the Bruno Manser Fund website in mid-September.

The Star newspaper had on 6 October reported on and confirmed the allegations based on its own on-site journalist investigation, which State cabinet ministers, MPs and State assemblymen had described the reports as “untruths”.

Even when the reports on the rape have been released and are found to contain some “truths”, there are some Cabinet ministers especially Jabu who question the credibility of the reports. – The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

Penan rape cases: Let the truth prevails

(Image credit: http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/background/people.htm)

The instant formation of a task force by the Women, Family and CommunityDevelopment Ministry to look into the plight of the Penan school girls as a result of rapes and abuse allegedly perpetrated by timber workers is timely to search for truth. Timely, because State leaders in particular Abdul Taib Mahmud, George Chan and Alfred Jabu have not only accused newspapers of deliberately publishing false news, but have also accused them as saboteurs. “Saboteurs” is a very strong word indeed.

What if there are some truths to the reports that appeared in The Star on 6 October where full “details” of rape cases and abuse of Penan school girls by timber workers were exposed? If there are some truths, then the truths will have an embarrassing effect on our government leaders.

Now if the truths have been established by the task force, then the parents of the girls, through legal firms, should seek compensations from the timber companies as well as the State government.

Why are the State leaders particularly Abdul Taib Mahmud so angry with the newspapers when they highlighted first, the 10,000 Kedayan Muslims who were to be evicted from their century old settlement in order to give way for an oil palm plantation, and second, on the rape cases and abuse of Penan school girls by timber workers?

Let take the case of the Kedayan Muslims. It seems that the State government was embarrassed when the case was reported by the media, as if they were unable to protect the Kedayans who were their strong supporters. In order to cover up for its seemingly uncaring attitude, the State leaders and director of land and survey department issued a number of conflicting statements blaming the media for making false reports. But at certain part of the director’s statement admitted there were certain lots (about 3,000 hectares) alienated to an oil palm company.

The purported eviction of the Kedayans is the second case. Early last month, the government also denied being involved in the removal of 44 graves from a Muslim cemetery at Jalan Keretapi, Kuching. But the rumors circulated were that the authority was allegedly given to a company owned by a woman who is related to a leader of the government. Now the government has assured that the cemetery will not be removed. Compensations are being discussed for the damaged graves.

On the rape cases of the Penan girls, the government had to deny that there was no such a thing, as it did not want the story to be blown up because of international implications. First, they did not want the world to know that the Penans had been deprived of their livelihood when their “pemakai menua” territorial domains and their ancestral lands were seized for oil palm and acacia plantations as well as destroying their forests, the sources of their foods. If the Penans’ plight is to be highlighted, then the possibility of our tropical forest timber and palm oil exports may be banned by the European Union, USA and Japan.

Secondly, the government does not want the world to know that their efforts to rehabilitate the Penans through a Penan affairs committee set up in 1988 had not produced the desired results. In fact Penan leaders have been questioning the government as to what happened to millions of ringgit supposed to be set side to help them. Maybe the Penan leaders should give some details to ACA for them to investigate.

My next point is why our Dayak leaders and Dayak NGOs especially the Orang Ulu National Association have chosen to remain quiet when one of their kind was being bullied, abused and their women raped?

The lack of response from our Dayak YBs and Dayak NGOs gives the impression that they are afraid to be associated with the Penans for fear of being labeled as anti-government or anti-development. For decades, the Penans are famous fighting for their rights to livelihood and for setting up blockades against timber companies, who have encroached into their ancestral lands and forests. Many of them have been arrested and sent to jails.

But can we blame them for seeking help from outside the State, when the government, instead of helping to rehabilitate them, deprives them of their rights to live the way they want to live?

For full coverage of the report on Penan by The Star, go here.