Where oil palm company don’t take natives’ `no’ as answer

Protests have been going on continually against the take over of ancestral land of the Terawan, Tering and Penans around Mulu National Park which is a World Heritage area-but ignored by oil palm plantation giant KTS Pusaka.

While the scandal around the Mulu National Park is brewing there is another scandal happening just outside its doorstep: At Long Terawan and a few villages around it -the oil palm company KTS Pusaka has taken over 800 000 hectares of NCR lands by securing the village chief’s consent, but notably ignoring the majority of the villagers and other ethnic groups like the Penans. The agreement between the company and the Terawan chief has been kept away from the villagers. See the video here.

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Penan pre-school fund still short of Rm2000.00

The Penan Pre-school fund had collected Rm53000.00 so far from 83 donors, only another Rm2000.00 away from the target. The project has trained 2 local teachers to start teaching the 100 over students at 2 schools, from January next year. The schools are located at Middle Baram at Long Item and Long Pakan.

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More Penan blockades in Ulu Baram

Why the Penan set up blockades

The indigenous group wants the government to gazette their village forest reserves as Communal Forests and to stop logging companies from encroaching into their land, says Ajang Kiew.

 

We would like to make some clarifications about the five blockades which have been set up by Penan communities in Baram recently to avoid any misunderstanding on the part of other parties. The villages which are involved in this blockade are Long Sayan and Long Belok in Sungai Apoh, Long Lutin in Sungai Patah, Long Kevok in Sungai Layun, Tutoh and the nomadic group Ba’ Bevan in Sungai Si’ang, Tutoh.

Here we would like to explain why those blockades were set up.

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Penan Education Fund still short of Rm5k

Penan children need your help in pre-school education!

From the facebook of Penan Education Fund the fund collected so far is RM50k, still short by RM5k. They hope to call a press conference to announce the fund collection on Nov 22-and hope that the full amount can come in by Nov 19th. The fund is meant to set up pre-school education for Penan kids in Long Itam and other settlements in Ulu Baram.  More info here.

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NGOs too can bring development goodies to Penans!

 

Penans getting help from civil society!

 

As of now the Penans community who are recognised as the most marginalised ethnic group in Sarawak are getting these development goodies-not from the government but from the friendly NGOs grouped around the Penans Support Group:
1. Pre-school education in a few long houses-teachers’ training to start soon;
2. A 4-wheel drive for middle Baram Penans(RM90k raised-need more)

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Did Anwar ensure promises on the resettlers’ welfare are kept?

Anwar Ibrahim was a Minister when he was handling Bakun’s re-settlement. His promises are among the statements remembered by the unhappy resettlers till today:

美丽新世界幻想破灭
重置区遍地梦的碎片

作者／本刊陈慧思 Sep 16, 2010 02:33:26 pm(Merdekareview)

走出巴贡，另闯新天系列（一）

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Penans’ pre-schooling need your support!

Penan kids need pre-schooleducation to acclimatise to schooling life

Their Story

Their lands, their forests, their home were destroyed. They are the indigenous rakyat (Orang Asal) in Middle-Baram, Sarawak. They are Malaysians.

They respect the nature, they respect the jungle; their life depends on the jungle, they live harmoniously with the jungle.

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Penans distruct local reps-want to see CM Taib

So the broken promises by the government has lost Pennas’ faith in the local reps-they want to see the big boss-CM Taib! Look like the Penans have shown themselves to be wiser citizens than many voters who(mis)take the government promises as their solution. Actually the test of the pudding is in the eating…

Penans snub local reps, want appointment with CM

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:24

By Joseph Tawie(Malaysian Mirror)

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Penans forced to go back on blockade after promises remain unfulfiled

One Year After: Penan Communities Re-Blockaded to Protest over Government’s Broken Promises

By Panai Ayat – BMF

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Time for West Malaysians’ to listen to the Penans and other marginalised natives of Sarawak!

This is a recollection of a 3-term MP on how he first got to put the marginalised Penans to the Kuching media-in 1994! May be West Malaysian public should also start to hear these folks from the very interior of Sarawak.

A distant cry for help from the jungle

By Sim Kwang Yang(Hornbill Unleashed)

The year was 1993, and I was serving my third term as an opposition member of parliament (MP) of Bandar Kuching.

In the Malaysian context at the time, the core of an MP’s job was to service the constituency, by solving the little problems created by inefficient administration, like looking after blocked drains, neglected garbage collection, and attending to minor daily problems faced by the constituents. That was how politicians saw their roles in Malaysians’ daily lives.

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