Sep 052009
Penan forest inhabitants are battling to save their ancestral lands from the might of plantation and timber companies, who have already stripped most of the primary rainforests in Sarawak.
Whatever happened to the much touted “sustainable forest management”? How were primary rainforests flattened for acacia tree and oil palm plantations, dealing a devastating blow to biodiversity?
Look at the greed of these logging and plantation firms. And when it comes to the interests of these giant firms vs those of ordinary people (like the Penan, in this case) – you know whose side the politicians will be on, as usual.
Check out this Aljazeera article here as well.
This is very sad. The Rakyat has always been con by greedy politicians.
When view against the Kg Buah Pala residence case it make me even more sad!
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
BN will lose Sarawak in the next state election…..
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Dear all,
That’s why we need PAS to be government as PAS motto is Charitable Government, Kerajaan Berkebajikan? PAS for ALL. For the next election, we need to vote more PAS adun to Parliment, and vote DAP also for democratic process and vote PKR for justice. Ensuring the balance of these group of party in some ratio will have more protection for the common people. If you guys vote for BN formula of racist ideology, then these Penan people will get screwed up more because based on racist party, their platform is only take care their race group only. So being Penan people are poor, and underfunded, so no Penan political party that can help them or at least brokered a deal for them to get some double storey house deal or other form of compensation. That’s why race based must go….choose other. Rather they got peanuts now…at least next they have Bananas. Better then nothing. Since… in Sarawak Taib Mammood rules all….so sad, even his (administration’s) Timber scandals got swept under the carpet because BN depends on Sarawak wakils to form government. So sad for Penan people, because though they don’t deserve what they got…the majority there have endorse… BN to rule. What to do, the people there have not wake up yet and feed their tube from government TV only. So sad…
regards,
1Malaysia
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Pity the Penans, the women are raped but the authorities say they cannot investigate because got no budget.
But got budget to hold multi-million ringgit campaigns and spend berpuluh puluh million on each by-election.
For heaven’s sake, the women are getting raped.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Big timber contractors used Penans like a can of coke. Use them and when the contents are gone, just crush it and dispose. Whats the point of helping folks in other countries with big media coverage if you can’t even help folks in your own country.
I am proud to be a tiny, microscopic part of the CATHOLIC Church involved in helping them.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Jika LGE ditugaskan untuk mengurus kes Penan ini, mereka akan mendapat kesudahan yang berbeza.
Apa boleh buat, inilah akibat undi mereka sampai ke pihak yang tidak prihatin kepada nasib mereka.
Kerajaan Negeri Sarawak dipimpin oleh parti yang sama selama 20+ tahun, tetapi masih ada masyarakat yang kekurangan makanan. Markah KPI ini mesti tidak lulus.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
The Borneo people and their natural resources have been exploited to the max and they gain nothing from it. What is the government doing about this? What are the environmental NGOs doing about this? This is saddening. :’(
The more pertinent question here is, what is each one of us doing about this? – Anil
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Guys
So far only 1 comments? They are also Malaysian – worst Bumi with their heritage land stolen and means of livelihood taken. Their lot is worst than Kg Pala and yet NGOs and people care them more than the Penans the true owners of Malaysia in Sarawak!!!
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Frens,
Are the police practice double standard?? MIC….where are you?…
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
What can we do to help them? How do we go about to help them?
Our government stinks bigtime. Only knows how to play up racial sentiments and religious issues. When it comes to helping the people, nothing.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
What’s the name of the oil palm companies bring misery to these people and stealing their land? Can someone furnish their details here so that we can put them to shame.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44).
“Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you” (Luke 6:28).
kalau kamu ditempat kami (penan) apa tindakan kamu
semua… ???? melihat anak saudara… bangsa kamu di
tindas sedemikian…??? apa perasaan kamu…???
kami tidak akan menyerah…
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
“what is each one of us doing about this?”
Are you suggesting we write an article in our blogs about the plight of the Penans? Other than those involved in furthering the interests of their preferred self-preservation societies, I think the answer is apparent.
What non-futile, credibly non-partisan options are you offering?
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
What do Taib Mahmud and his band… care about a few natives in loin cloth…
Time to can BN in a can (jail) when Pakatan comes into power. But will the people of Sabah & Sarawak(considered by BN as fixed deposit, ATM etc) ever learn? Their power lies in the ballot box then Taib and his arrogant cronies will come on bended knees to them begging for mercy!!
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Ka Wai,
Kalaulah LGE mentadbir Sarawak, lain ceritanya. Sarawak besar, banyak hasil bumi. Tanah pun besar. Kalau ada Kampung Buah Pala, no problem. Kalaulah LGE mentadbir Sarawak, dia mesti mentadbir ala LKY
Singapore style of social developement is the best solution for Sarawak. Not Anil’s style of socialism. Democratic socialism. State planning with pragmatic economic sense. The one that propels Singapore into prosperity. In no time, Sarawak would have a “Temasik” style holding. Everybody got housing. Everybody in Sarawak is a stakeholder
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
“. Democratic socialism. State planning with pragmatic economic sense. The one that propels Singapore into prosperity. In no time, Sarawak would have a “Temasik” style holding. Everybody got housing. Everybody in Sarawak is a stakeholder”
=- loos74
I shudder to think that there are people who thought that lky’s model of controlled democracy as the foundation of economic development held all the promise of prosperity and social well-being. The singaporeans are voting with their feet. Why do you think they are doing so ? And those who voted with their feet had had enough of singapore created in lky’s image.
An interesting, perhaps sad in some way, irony is that many people found the glittering lights of materialism alluring. The seductive impression was that there were no poor people in a clean singapore. Scratch the surface and below it you will see a lot of festering and ugly wounds. If you are living in singapore I challenge you to go out to hawker centers at around 2 am in the morning before an army of cleaners came on the scene. I bet you that your clean and green image of singapore would be shattered.
As for poor and disenfrenchised people may I suggest that you go and volunteer your service at some old folks home or the “heart to heart service” ran by Theresa chew.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
—-
“The economics of it are simple,” says Abdullah Chek Sahmat, the general manager of Sarawak’s Land Custody and Development Authority.
“The traditional way to use forest land maybe provides about 500kg of rice a year, using slash and burn farming techniques that are also environmentally damaging,” he says.
Cutting down natural rainforest releases “huge amounts of carbon”, says Verchot
“This 500kg of rice is worth about $142 per hectare per year. If you put the same land under oil palm, you’ll make $3550 per hectare per year at current prices.”
——————————–
This argument by abdullah who has the che(e)k to suggest that he and the developers were saint out to help the penans out of their poverty trap is seriously flawed. It is like using a ruler to measure the temperature of a person.
The earnings of the penan people are difficult to quantify as they live off the land. Their wealth is not so much in their possession but in the life stock contain within the jungle. This abdullah who had the che(e)k (is responsible for destroying) all these – now come and say that he will save the people.
We always thought that burning is bad. It is not. In fact by burning and burying the charcoal these people are helping to remove the carbon load from the atmosphere. There is now a movement (biochar) that is promoted and researched/researching the potential of carbon sequestration as a way to fight global warming. This is carbon negative.
Forests are carbon neutral and if you cut it down it will become carbon positive even when you plant oil palm trees.
Biodiesel as a reason for planting more oil palm is a bad strategy. There are now better alternatives such as algae or another specie of trees(can’t remember off hand).
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0