DAYAK PLIGHT: PRS SUBMIT MEMORANDUM OF NCR LAND TO PRIME MINISTER

Report by The broken Shield reveal that PRS will send Memorandum on problem faced by the Dayak community to the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The reason is that because Taib and Jabu are not able to listen to them. The problem has been reported to the State government many time but however Taib seems ignorant to what has been reported.

PRS to submit memorandum on NCR land

SOURCE: The Broken Shield

Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) has decided to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister and chairman of Barisan Nasional regarding NCR land and other issues that have been plaguing the Dayak community.

The decision was made during the supreme council meeting of the party in Bintulu last Saturday and a committee has been appointed to draft the memorandum, said a supreme council member to The Broken Shield.

During the meeting NCR land issues and the problems especially affecting residents of Sungai Asap were discussed, he said, adding: “The NCR land issues are posing serious political problems to PRS and the Barisan Nasional and so are the problems affecting the residents of Sungai Asap.”

He said the 10,000 people resettled at Sungai Asap in 1998 as a result of Bakun hydro-project faced real and acute problems that needed the urgent attention of the relevant authorities.

“They just cannot survive with three acres of land given to each family. As many do not have regular incomes, they are unable to pay for their housing, their children’s education, and water and electricity bills.

“I hear that the residents have been given warning that their supplies of water and electricity may be cut off in the coming weeks unless they settle their bills,” he said and pointed out that the problems affecting the residents would become worse.

Some of them, like the 20 Punan families from Punan Talun longhouse, might have to return to the jungle where they did not have to pay bills for water and electricity.

“All these details will be included in the memorandum to the Prime Minister. If we fail to inform the Prime Minister, then we are failing in our duty. And failing to arrest these problems may also pose political problems to us in the coming election. So don’t blame us later on,” he said.

Copies of the memorandum will also be extended to the State government.



Retracted from the Sarawak Headhunter under :

Resettled Bakun Natives Disappointed By Taib's Government

Resettled native communities near Bakun disappointed by govt treatment

A number of community leaders in the Sg. Asap and Sg.Koyan near Bakun expressed their disappointment over the way the government has treated them over the unpaid water bills issue as highlighted in a national news agency yesterday.

Jack Paran, 51, from Uma Kelab (longhouse), claimed that all 15 longhouse chiefs in the area had recently met officials from the department, LAKU Management Sdn Bhd (a wholly-owned state government agency) to supply portable water and collect revenue from here, Miri and Limbang and others.

“Despite having requested the government to scrap the unsettled bills since 1998, we are sad and disappointed that a decision had been made,” he told Bernama on Monday.

“With the Christmas season around the corner, where a few thousands working away from the scheme would be returning home and a wedding or two would be planned in December, I will feel very sorry for them."

“And, what if we have to mourn the death of someone in the community after Dec 16?,” he asked.

Another leader, former councillor Laing Lerong, 68, hoped the government could come up with an amicable solution to their predicament.

“We do not want to pick up any quarrel with the government. We just hope it can sympathise with us, as not everyone can settle their outstanding bills at one go,” he said.

Penghulu Saging Bit, of Uma Belor, appealed to the government for a deferment or to settle the arrears in installments or perhaps, scrap the arrears.

He hoped the government would consider their problem fairly as they had sacrificed much for the sake of the country. Most of the residents, he said, were poor and did not have regular income.

“We have made sacrifices to make way for the RM3.2 billion hydro project which is the biggest in the nation and scheduled for completion in June 2010.

“We hope the government could reciprocate,” he said.

Penan Talun worst affected

One of the communities that will be badly affected by the government decision on December 16 will be the 20 odds Penan Talun families at Sg. Koyan which is part of the larger Sg. Asap resettlement scheme.

Jack Paran said “When the supply is discontinued as scheduled, they may be forced to return to the jungle”.

“As it is now, about two families enjoy power supply as the rest cannot afford to pay for the monthly bills,” he noted.

He said compared to the other Orang Ulu groups like the Kayan or the Kenyah, the Penan could not simply catch up economically.

“They cannot even catch up, even if you give them agricultural projects to provide income to sustain themselves,” he said.

Now there are worries of what will happen to the Penan in the Murum area. They too will be relocated to make way for another multi-billion ringgit dam in Murum.

As in Sg. Asap these Penan communities have been promised a better life after they are resettled by the state government.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu said they would be given improved amenities, social and economic activities for a sustainable livelihood reported The Star on Nov 6.

“They will have a better (resettled) life than they have now,” he told Dominic Ng Kim Ho (PKR-Padungan) during question time in the state assembly.

Ng asked if the consent of the Penans from six settlements had been sought on the relocation exercise, and how they would be resettled.

Preliminary work on the 900MW Murum project, the biggest after the 2,400MW Bakun dam project, has started.