(Kuching, 19th) The Hulu Balui “Tanah Adat and Lepu’un Committee” in Belaga held a protest against the reforestation project at Uma Lahanan longhouse, Sungai Buang, accusing the project of encroaching on Native Customary Rights (NCR) land and destroying the local ecological environment and cultural heritage.
The committee chairman, Denis Hang Bilang, led five representatives from Uma Daro, Uma Belor, Uma Juman, and Uma Lahanan longhouses to gather at the project site in Belaga yesterday (October 18) to express their opposition to the bamboo planting activities being carried out by a private company.
In a statement, Denis said: “The committee has found that the project has encroached upon land that is still regarded as NCR and Lepu’un’s traditional territory, belonging to the Hulu Balui indigenous community, and has caused serious environmental damage that threatens the people’s cultural heritage.”
The committee stated that the project has destroyed the ecological environment, polluted rivers, and disrupted the traditional way of life in which Hulu Balui residents depend on fisheries and forest resources for their livelihood.
They added that soil erosion in the project area flows directly into Bakun Lake, which may shorten the lifespan of the Bakun Dam due to the accumulation of silt and sediment.
The committee further alleged that the project had intruded into the ancestral customary land that Hulu Balui people have inherited and dwelled on since before James Brooke's rule (prior to 1841) and before the establishment of Malaysia.
The committee also objected to the “Land Order (Extinguishment of Native Customary Rights) (Bakun Reservoir Area) (No. 4), 1997” issued by the government of former Sarawak Chief Minister Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud in 1997.
This gazette was published on February 15, 1997, and extinguished all customary land rights of the Bakun community without consent or reasonable compensation. The committee considers this to be in violation of Article 13 of the Federal Constitution.
On behalf of the Hulu Balui people, Denis presented four demands to the Sarawak government:
1. Repeal the 1997 gazette and reinstate the extinguished customary land rights;
2. Provide replacement land for all customary land and Lepu’un territories inundated by the Bakun Hydroelectric Project, prioritizing compensation lands within unmapped ancestral territories;
3. Officially include all customary and Lepu’un lands into the gazette by means of an official map, emulating the land registration method of the British colonial government on January 1, 1958;
4. Demand that the relevant company pay compensation to the Uma Lahanan community, calculated at ten times current value, based on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in 1989 between the Sarawak Timber Association (STA) and the Belaga OUNA branch.
Denis emphasized that the protest was not a rejection of development, but a struggle for justice and recognition of ancestral rights.
He said: “We do not oppose development, but we reject any acts that violate Article 13 of the Federal Constitution or attempt to erase our ancestral rights.
“This land belongs to countless ancestors who have passed away, to the few who remain among the living, and to generations yet unborn.”
The committee chairman, Denis Hang Bilang, led five representatives from Uma Daro, Uma Belor, Uma Juman, and Uma Lahanan longhouses to gather at the project site in Belaga yesterday (October 18) to express their opposition to the bamboo planting activities being carried out by a private company.
In a statement, Denis said: “The committee has found that the project has encroached upon land that is still regarded as NCR and Lepu’un’s traditional territory, belonging to the Hulu Balui indigenous community, and has caused serious environmental damage that threatens the people’s cultural heritage.”
The committee stated that the project has destroyed the ecological environment, polluted rivers, and disrupted the traditional way of life in which Hulu Balui residents depend on fisheries and forest resources for their livelihood.
They added that soil erosion in the project area flows directly into Bakun Lake, which may shorten the lifespan of the Bakun Dam due to the accumulation of silt and sediment.
The committee further alleged that the project had intruded into the ancestral customary land that Hulu Balui people have inherited and dwelled on since before James Brooke's rule (prior to 1841) and before the establishment of Malaysia.
The committee also objected to the “Land Order (Extinguishment of Native Customary Rights) (Bakun Reservoir Area) (No. 4), 1997” issued by the government of former Sarawak Chief Minister Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud in 1997.
This gazette was published on February 15, 1997, and extinguished all customary land rights of the Bakun community without consent or reasonable compensation. The committee considers this to be in violation of Article 13 of the Federal Constitution.
On behalf of the Hulu Balui people, Denis presented four demands to the Sarawak government:
1. Repeal the 1997 gazette and reinstate the extinguished customary land rights;
2. Provide replacement land for all customary land and Lepu’un territories inundated by the Bakun Hydroelectric Project, prioritizing compensation lands within unmapped ancestral territories;
3. Officially include all customary and Lepu’un lands into the gazette by means of an official map, emulating the land registration method of the British colonial government on January 1, 1958;
4. Demand that the relevant company pay compensation to the Uma Lahanan community, calculated at ten times current value, based on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in 1989 between the Sarawak Timber Association (STA) and the Belaga OUNA branch.
Denis emphasized that the protest was not a rejection of development, but a struggle for justice and recognition of ancestral rights.
He said: “We do not oppose development, but we reject any acts that violate Article 13 of the Federal Constitution or attempt to erase our ancestral rights.
“This land belongs to countless ancestors who have passed away, to the few who remain among the living, and to generations yet unborn.”