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Borneo Post
01-07-2025
- Borneo Post
NGOs demand immediate release of Long Tepen protestors
Handout photo shows the two men currently under remand. MIRI (July 1): Sarawak non-governmental organisation (NGO) Keruan and Swiss NGO Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF) are calling for the immediate release of two Penan protestors from Long Tepen. The men were remanded for four days on Sunday to assist with an investigation under Section 103 of the Forest Ordinance. In a joint statement, Keruan and BMF called on the government to support the immediate release of the two men and to take action to stop logging in the area. 'The rights of indigenous peoples to their land must be respected and protected,' said the statement. The NGOs called for assistance on the matter from the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam). According to the statement, one other man escaped with minor injuries and reported the incident to the police. Komeok Joe from Keruan said while the Penan community from Long Tepen has repeatedly filed police reports against the destruction of their forests by a company, their rights have been ignored and their defenders criminalised. 'Instead of addressing the community's legitimate concerns, authorities have chosen to target those who stand up for their land and culture,' he claimed. According to the NGOs, Long Tepen folk filed police reports in September 2024, March 2025, and June 2025 against the logging activities of a company on their ancestral lands and the dismantlement of their blockades. Yesterday, Roland Engan, the lawyer for the two men, called on all parties to remain calm to allow the investigation and any possible prosecution to proceed without interference. The Sarawak Forest Department said in a statement that the two men were also being investigated under Section 506 of the Penal Code for making criminal threats. The department claimed the two men were among individuals who had set up a blockade in Telang Usan on June 28 and used violence against the department's enforcement personnel while they were carrying out their duties by abusing and injuring them. 'These individuals also issued threatening words against enforcement personnel during the incident,' said the department. The department added another suspect fled the scene and is still being pursued. Bruno Manser Fonds Keruan Komeok Joe lead Long Tepen
Malay Mail
01-07-2025
- Malay Mail
NGOs call for immediate release of Penan protestors detained over Long Tepen logging dispute
MIRI, July 1 — Sarawak non-governmental organisation (NGO) Keruan and Swiss NGO Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF) are calling for the immediate release of two Penan protestors from Long Tepen. On Sunday, the men were remanded for four days to assist with an investigation under Section 103 of the Forest Ordinance. In a joint statement yesterday, Keruan and BMF called on the government to support the immediate release of the two men and to take action to stop logging in the area. 'The rights of indigenous peoples to their land must be respected and protected,' said the statement. The NGOs called for assistance on the matter from the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam). According to the statement, one other man escaped with minor injuries and reported the incident to the police. Komeok Joe from Keruan said while the Penan community from Long Tepen has repeatedly filed police reports against the destruction of their forests by a company, their rights have been ignored and their defenders criminalised. 'Instead of addressing the community's legitimate concerns, authorities have chosen to target those who stand up for their land and culture,' he claimed. According to the NGOs, Long Tepen folk filed police reports in September 2024, March 2025, and June 2025 against the logging activities of a company on their ancestral lands and the dismantlement of their blockades. Yesterday, Roland Engan, the lawyer for the two men, called on all parties to remain calm to allow the investigation and any possible prosecution to proceed without interference. The Sarawak Forest Department said in a statement that the two men were also being investigated under Section 506 of the Penal Code for making criminal threats. The department claimed the two men were among individuals who had set up a blockade in Telang Usan on June 28 and used violence against the department's enforcement personnel while they were carrying out their duties by abusing and injuring them. 'These individuals also issued threatening words against enforcement personnel during the incident,' said the department. The department added another suspect fled the scene and is still being pursued. — The Borneo Post
Scoop
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
NGOs Call For The Immediate Release Of Two Indigenous Penan From Sarawak, Malaysia
The Sarawak NGO Keruan and the Swiss based NGO Bruno Manser Fonds are calling for the immediate release of two Indigenous Penan from Sarawak, Malaysia, following their arrest by police on June 28th, 2025. (Sarawak / Malaysia) On June 28th, two Penan from Long Tepen were arrested by forestry officals while resting with a friend on the side of the road near Batu 12. While one of three Penan escaped with minor injuries and reported the incident to the police, the other two Penan were detained for at least four days under Section 103 of the Forestry Ordinance. The Long Tepen Village Residents Action Committee emphasised in its media statement over the weekend: «It is believed that the claims of obstructing public servants and issuing threats were fabricated. This incident appears to be a case of abuse of power by the Forest Department team.» It is pertinent to note that the Penan community from Long Tepen has filed numerous police reports in September 2024, March 2025 and June 2025 against the logging activities of the Malaysian company Shing Yang on their ancestral lands and the dismantlement of their blockades. Komeok Joe from the Penan organization Keruan concludes: «The Penan from Long Tepen have repeatedly filed police reports against the destruction of their forests by the company Shin Yang, only to see their rights ignored and their defenders criminalized. Instead of addressing the community's legitimate concerns, authorities have chosen to target those who stand up for their land and culture.» Keruan and the Bruno Manser Fonds urge the Malaysian government to support the immediate release of the two Penan forest defenders and to take action to stop logging in indigenous territories. The rights of indigenous peoples to their land must be respected and protected. In today's letter to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) the NGOs request assistance in this matter.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Bruno Manser Fonds Denies Baseless Allegations By Sarawak Minister Over ITTO Project Failure
Government policy change over logging core protection zone is the real reason for the termination of the ITTO-supported Upper Baram Forest Area (UBFA) in Malaysian Borneo Swiss NGO Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF) today denied allegations made by Sarawak Deputy Minister Len Talif Salleh in the Sarawak State Assembly (DUN) yesterday over the reasons for the termination of a flagship sustainability project 'We are not willing to take the blame for a dodgy policy change by the Sarawak government', BMF director Lukas Straumann said. 'Len should be honest and acknowledge that Sarawak dropped the late Chief Minister Adenan Satem's plan of protecting the UBFA's core zone of 79,000 hectares of primary forest – Sarawak's last primary forest outside the totally protected areas.' Celine Lim, Managing Director of Sarawak-based NGO SAVE Rivers said:' We work with non-Penan communities and were part of the UBFA Project Steering Committee (PSC). So, it is not true that the overall communities were not well represented via the NGOs coalition. The response by YB Datuk Haji Len is intentionally divisive and incomplete to villainise the role of the NGOs, when we were only inquiring public information as per our role as rightholders in the PSC.' In 2020, Malaysia submitted a proposal to the International Tropical Timber Organization for the conservation and sustainable development of a 283,500 hectare area in Sarawak's Upper Baram region. The proposal was drafted by the renowned late botanist Dr Paul Chai and endorsed by then Forest Director Sapuan Ahmad. A key element of the proposal was the conservation of a 79,000 hectare core zone of primary forest in Upper Baram. After international funding was secured, the Sarawak authorities unilaterally changed the project design. The 79,000 hectares were no longer to be excised from the logging concessions but became part of a timber licence granted to Borneoland Timber Resources, a company controlled by the politically-linked timber tycoon Hii King Chiong. Currently, massive logging activities on the western flank of the iconic Gunung Murud Kecil are threatening this habitat of extraordinary biodiversity in the core zone of the former ITTO project. Neither ITTO nor the Sarawak state government answered NGO letters questioning the reasons for the policy change and highlightling governance failures in the ITTO project. The Swiss City of Basel, the Bruno Manser Fonds and the Japanese government had pledged to support the project with a total amount of USD 556,000.
Free Malaysia Today
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Don't blame us for scrapping of forest project, says group
Residents during a 2024 protest against logging in the Upper Baram Forest Area. (BMF pic) PETALING JAYA : Environmental group Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF) tonight denied a claim that it failed to meet conditions set by the Sarawak government, which led to the termination of a forest project. It said the claim was baseless. BMF said the Sarawak government's policy change over logging core protection zones was the real reason for the International Tropical Timber Organisation's Upper Baram Forest Area (UBFA) project being scrapped. 'We are not willing to take the blame for a policy change by the Sarawak government,' Lukas Straumann, the director of the Switzerland-based group, said in a statement. Earlier today, Sarawak deputy minister for urban planning, land administration and environment Len Talif Salleh told the state assembly that BMF had focused solely on the Penan community in the UBFA. He said BMF had overlooked other key indigenous groups such as the Kenyah, Kelabit, and Saban, who also have legitimate interests in the area, and that such an approach risked undermining community harmony. Separately, Celine Lim, the managing director of Sarawak-based NGO SAVE Rivers, said they had worked with non-Penan communities, adding that these groups were part of the UBFA Project Steering Committee. 'So, it is not true that the overall communities were not well represented via the NGOs' coalition,' she said. Lim accused Len Talif of villainising the role of SAVE Rivers. Len Talif had said the project's termination would not affect the well-being of local communities as various initiatives by the forest department, ministries and government agencies were being executed to improve livelihoods across multiple sectors.
