As reported by Malaysiakini, there are plans by Sarawak Energy Bhd. to built 12 massive dams that will cause serious enviromental problems in Sarawak. It is noted that Mulu National park will be at risk when these dams are built.

The purported document highlighting these plans were leaked and is available on the internet.

You can view the document here

Date: 16th June 2008

The Honourable the Mayor
Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan (MBKS)
Jalan Padungan, Kuching Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA)
2nd Floor, Lot 51, Bgn Chin Poh Luk
Sg. Maong Bazaar, Off Jalan Penrissen
93200 Kuching Sarawak

Tel / Fax 6-082-256084
Email sadiahq@gmail.com

Sir,

Re: Policy on Jungle Produce sale

On 13th of June 2008, we wrote to you inter alia, requesting for a meeting with your goodself. Although from the press we learnt the traders are allowed to carry on with their trade at the carpark at Tabuan Jaya, the problem is only temporarily solved. What is required is a permanent site for the vendors of jungle produce at the new Community Market at Stutong or better still at the present site.

2. While we wish to thank you for your prompt action on the complaints from the 43 vendors we would be grateful if you could see us to talk about finding a permanent solution. The present policy of the Council on sale of jungle produce at the new Community Market is unfair, to say the least, because it excludes them from earning income from the sale of jungle produce there. A practicable policy, we suggest, would be to take into consideration the following factors:

2.1 Views of the purchasers. From the perspective of the housewife or amah the shorter the distance from her home to the market, the better, thus saving on fuel.

2.2 Views of the traders. From the viewpoint of the traders, the greater the demand for the produce the more income they get. Many of the 43 traders at the temporary market have been plying their trade for the past 5 – 13 years. They know better the condition of the supply / demand and requirement of the purchasers and the viability of their trade.

3. To help out the traders of space exclusion at the Stutong Market, we suggest the council allow them to stay put at the present site or alternatively at the Stutong market. At this new market the business would be viable for traders coming from Samarahan areas (Malaban Sampun, Tabuan, Mambong, etc). To these traders, alternative sites like Sukma Ria (Matang), 10th mile or at 7th mile markets the business would not be good compared with the present site or at the Stutong Market.

4. SADIA would appeal to your Council to modify the policy which discriminates against vendors of jungle produce now trading at Tabuan Jaya temporarily and accommodate them permanently at either venues.

5. As the interests of our members are affected in this case, this Association will continue to work with your Council or councillors so that the traders will feel secure in their business.

Assuring you of our cooperation always,

Yours sincerely,

Sidi Munan
President
Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA)

c.c. YB Dautk Michael Manyin
 Minister of Environment and Public Utility Sarawak

Date: 12 June 2008
The Honourable the Mayor,
Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan
Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Selatan,
Jalan Padungan,
93675, Kuching

 Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA)
2nd Floor, Lot 51, Bgn Chin Poh Luk
Sg Maong Bazaar, Off Jalan Penrissen
93200 Kuching,Sarawak, Malaysia

Phone/Fax: 6-082-256084
Email: sadiahq@gmail.com

Dear Sir,

Appeal for stalls at Stutong Community Market

Today, officials of Stampin Branch of Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) investigated on the spot the complaints made by some forty three jungle produce vendors at the Tabuan Jaya Temporary market. The complaints are: -

1. The jungle produce sellers have been told to stop doing business at the market with effect from Sunday 15 June 2008.

2. Their applications sent through their de facto leader Jonathan Chong anak Abi for space at the new Stutong Community Market “cannot be considered as the Government did not allocated trading space for jungle produce at the said market” (Zuraidah Bt. Idris,  AO (PHL) MBKS dated 28 May 2008).

As a consequence, the forty three stall holders have no where else to go to ply their trade, except: -

1. to SUKMA Ria Market and Sg. Maong Market. Both are under the jurisdiction of DBKU and

2. 7th Mile Market under MPP

We were told that the closure demand by your Council will cause a lot of problems to the vendors and from our observation and knowledge about these people, many of whom are members of the association, this sentiment is factual.
The suggestion by your Council that space will be made available at the market mentioned above is not practical. There is no guarantee that the space for trading will be made available fast enough as the markets are under the jurisdiction of different local authorities which may have different terms and conditions to govern jungle produce vendors.

Furthermore, we have identified that many of the vendors (Iban, Chinese, Malays and Bidayuh) are from Tabuan areas, Sampun, Spit Padawan, Malaban, Rembus and that most of these people find it convenient to trade at Tabuan Jaya or Stutong only.

We would appeal to you on their behalf that these traders be allowed to carry on with their trade at the present place until such time when a reasonable solution to the problem is found.

We would wish to make an appointment with you personally in order to clarify matters relating to this problem as soon as you could find time to meet us.

Looking forward to meeting you.
Yours sincerely,
Sidi Munan
President
Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA)

Maxwell Rojis
Chairman, Stampin Branch
Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA)
c.c.  YB Datuk Michael Manyin
 Minister of Environment and Health Sarawak

It all started when the Tabuan Jaya Temporary Market vendors were to move to the new ultra-modern “community” market just located about a mile or so from the present location. Whilst the other vendors were happy to move to the new location, there are some 43 odd vendors many of which are Dayaks were not allocated a place at the new market. The reason according to the council or in this case the MBKS ( Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan) is that the “Government did not allocated trading space for jungle produce at the said market”. The Dayak vendors by the way sell jungle produce. There vendors are to relocate at SUKMA Ria Market or the Sg. Maong Market which are miles away from Tabuan Jaya or even the city. Another place is the 7th mile market, which is again miles away. These markets are not only further than the present market at Tabuan Jaya but there are not many people patronising them. To add salt to the wound they would have to apply again, meaning their place at these markets are not guaranteed.
Most of the vendors are SADIA members

The group of us comprising SADIA chairman En Sidi Munan, myself, Ruekeith Jampong and Maxwell Rojis went to investigate on the spot the complaints made by forty three jungle produce vendors. According to these vendors they are to stop doing their business at the market with effect from Sunday 15th 2008. The closure demand by the Council will cause a lot of problems to these vendors as many of them have been doing their business for the past 13 years, many of whom rely on this as their major source of income. I spoke to one of the vendors and said that if they were not allocated a space at the new market, he cannot see himself supporting his family any other way. He has been selling at this market since the beginning.

The vendor’s de facto leader Jonathan Chong ak Abi

The vendors affected

Maxwell and I passing a copy of the letter (to the MBKS Mayor) to one of the vendors

I’m listening to the complaints of this vendor

SADIA chairman together with the SADIA Stampin chairman, En Maxwell Rojis, wrote a letter to the Mayor of MBKS to allow them to carry on with their trade at the present place until such time when a reasonable solution the problem is found. The letter further requests for an appointment to meet the Mayor personally in order to clarify matters relating to the problems faced by these vendors. The letter was then passed to the mayor’s office. The copy of the letter was given to all the vendors affected.

Sadia’s goodwill visit to Pontianak last week was a success. Led by Sidi Munan, president of Sadia,  the delegation met with a number of local luminaries including the Archbishop of West Kalimantan, Monsignor H. Bumbun, head of Dewan Adat Thadeus Yus, president of Tampun Juah Association of Ibanic groups in Kalimantan, provincial legislator,Bapak Tobias Renggie, members of the Institute of Dayakology, representatives of Credit Union, Bapak Mhd Faad and representative of Kebudayaan Melayu of Pontianak, Pak Clarry Sada, lecturer at the University of Tanjung Pura.

Included in the Sadia delegation were Datuk Seri Daniel Tajem, former deputy chief minister of Sarawak, Malaysian High Commissioner to New Zealand and former president of SDNU, Sadia’s Secretary General Nicholas Mujah; members and supporters of Sadia: businesswoman Ebi Unding, former civil servants Reynolds Gregory, Major (B) Abong, former army sergeant Gilbert Asson;  former hospital assistant, Jupiter Kallang; community leaders, Augustine Mercer, TR Bisa, Jimmy, Samai and Dom. Rukeith Jampong was the organiser of the visit (Sarawak side) and Clarry Sada (Kalimantan side).

Apart from sightseeing and shopping, the delegation paid a courtesy call on the Archbishop Msgr Bumbun who also graced the dinner hosted by Sadia at Hotel Kartika on Saturday evening. The audience attended by local dignitaries was entertained by local musicians from the “Menyadi Production House”. Iban songs dominated the show. Not to be outdone, Sadia produced its version of Elvis Presley (Reynolds Gregory) and evergreen Jimmy with “Selamat Gawai”. 

In order to do justice to the trip, members of the delegation held discussions on cultural and economic matters with their Indonesian hosts.

1.  Kami ba Opis Besai arap ka kita gerai magang serta ngajih ka kita mujur ngadu ka Gawai Dayak taun tu begulai sejalai enggau SDNU tauka DAM tauka kediri ba alai ti nadai maioh kaban ari gerempong dua iti nya.

2. Aku nesau semua pampang gerempong minta sida baum taun (annual general meeting) lalu ngirum ka Form 9 ti diberi Registrar of Societies ninting taun ngagai ngagai Opis Sadia di Kuching nyamai disain aku enggau Sekretari sebedau form nya di anjung ngagai ROS dalam kandang 60 ari lepas AGM.
3. Pelaba ka aku kita tentu ka ninga rita pasal pengawa ti diadu ka Sadia kitai. Ba baroh tu bisi berita ditulis dalam English kena nganjung berita ngagai suratkabar enggau website.
 
4. Sadia’s activities

Important dates to remember:
This talk is part of a series to be organized by the association throughout Sarawak for the next several months in a campaign of awareness among the landowners. The next talk will on “ How To Manage a Smallholder Oil Palm with limited Resources”. The speaker will be made known soon.
 
From 16-18 May 2008, a tour of West Kalimantan will be organized for members of the association. Members interested to join the trip are requested to get in touch with Ruekeith Jampong (0194879339) for details.

Events in June
On 6th June a dinner will be held at the Kuching Park Hotel for members and supporters of the association. Those interested please book a table from the following organizers: Mervyn Tajem and Maxwell Rojis, for further details.

Football Club
Sadia has formed a soccer club with the intention of participating in the local league. Since the beginning of the year many practices have been held with the help of coaches from the football fraternity. The response from the soccer fans has been excellent. The team has won a number of friendly matches. The team is being managed by the officials of Stampin branch (Mervyn Tajem)

Music Club
Sadia has organized a 5-piece band with the help of young musicians in Kuching. The band’s public performance was at the Children;s  Christmas Party in November last year. They will perform again at the Gawai dinner on 6th June this year.

Forum
On 23 April Sadia organized a forum in Kuching to discuss the findings of five national and international NGOS on the impact on the communities affected by the oil palm plantations in Sarawak. Teams from the Pesticide Action Network Asia and Pacific(PAN-AP), People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS), Centre for Economics and Development Consultants Society(India), Thailand’s Sustainable Development Foundation, Rainforest Action Network(USA) and Tenaganita had carried out their work at various locations in Sarawak from 18-22 April 2008.
The association’s president Sidi Munan addressed the meeting. He stressed the fact that his association is not anti development of land for any plantation crops as long as the natives whose land is used for the purpose do  not lose their rights over land. He was all for the formation of a body to regulate the sustainable production, standards and sale of the palm oil from Malaysia so that the product will fetch a premium price  worldwide. Full text of his speech is available on request. 

Birth Certicate
Sadia urges NRD to relax requirements before a birth certificate can be issued. This refers particularly to the requirement to produce photo copies of birth certificates and Mykad of other brothers and sisters of the applicant. This is almost impossible to produce. There are other requirements which are also difficult to comply with. The campaign to relax these requirements are beng handled by Municipal Councillor Munan Anak Penghulu Laja who is also the deputy chairman of Sadia based in Sibu.  

“Bejalai Betungkat Ka Adat; tindok bepanggal ka Pengingat”

Ari aku ti amat,
Sidi Munan
26 April 2008 

Speech by En. Sidi Munan during a gathering at Telan Usang Hotel on the 24th April

 On behalf of the Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) and the participants of this forum, I wish to welcome our friends from across the sea. I hope that their fact-finding mission has been worth their time and effort, especially the stint in the jungle!  Our organization is called SADIA; this  stands for sama dia in our language or Together There. In Bahasa Malaysia it sounds like” sedia” - ready and willing. According to FFM guidelines, the Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific, the People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty and the local host organization are expected to form a partnership. Now you can’t find a better partner than Sadia. We are ready, willing and able to enter into a partnership in matters of mutual interest : in this case to study the impact of oil palm plantations on the life of the community where the plantations  exist. We are particularly interested in the bottom line: do the landowners get a fair deal?  In Sarawak these fall under the following categories – ·        Plantations managed by SALCRA, on which Native owners retain full rights over their land (titles issued)·        Plantations jointly owned by Natives and investors, with LCDA as trustees for the Native landowners; the owners in question have no specific guarantee that the rights will eventually revert to them, or their descendants.·        Plantations owned by private investors on land leased to them by government for 60 years. To a now middle-aged owner, this means giving up his rights for life; can he be sure his children or grandchildren will get it back? 

SALCRA schemes

I understand the FFM team was not briefed by SALCRA officials, although an appointment for a meeting had been made. As the first chief executive officer and deputy chairman of SALCRA from 1976 to 1984 I’m interested to find out if the oil palm plantations we started have reduced the poverty rate among the participants. I also would like to know about the environmental impact on the locality, the social impact in terms of education, health of the participants, the level of social mobility and their general outlook vis-à-vis the world at large.As the officials declined to meet the fact-finding mission (at very short notice!), SALCRA missed the opportunity to showcase its success to an international audience. 

NCR Development Concept - LCDA

People in Sarawak would like to know the progress of the pilot schemes in Kanowit and Baram, managed under this concept.  Many co-owners of these plantations are wondering what legal machinery is in place to ensure the reversion of their rights over the land at the end of 60 years, and what condition the land will be in. The fact-finding mission could not meet LCDA officials. 

Private plantations

While we encourage bona fide investment and expertise transfer, we would like to know why are there so many land disputes. At the moment there are 173 cases involving alleged encroachment on Native Customary Rights land (pemakai menoa). These rights were in existence before the coming into operation of the Land Code in 1958, and must not be disregarded. Frequent amendments to the Land Code have further eroded Native Customary Rights; one recent example being the Registration of Native Rights (Land Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2000). The effect of all this tinkering is to reduce the Native holdings so the land can be alienated. Given the present mood to ‘open up idle land’, it takes no great stretch of the imagination to conclude that this land will be alienated to large-scale private sector companies. Plantation companies increasingly find that there is shortage of land in the Peninsula and Sabah. Conditions imposed in Indonesia on Malaysian companies are strictly enforced. So they turn to Sarawak. With little or no knowledge of local conditions and adat, they find that money can buy customary rights. Their local agents are happy to broker a deal, for fat commissions. Landowners are offered upfront money. Many village heads fall into temptation. But the land is owned communally, one group of villagers cannot dispose of it against the wishes of their fellows. These are the people who come to see us. Some cases are beyond redemption, like stage four cancer. In recent years landowners have become aware of their rights, thanks to the work of our field activists and other NGOs. 

Pemakai menoa

This term means ‘forest reserved as a communal source of food, building and other materials.’ In the majority of the 173 cases mentioned above, the complaint is about the illegal infringement of landowners’ rights over pemaka menoai. The main argument against the Native claim is that these are patches of virgin jungle, and virgin jungle belongs to the government. The Native owners/claimants are therefore squatters and can be removed at will. This has been the main bone of contention between landowners and the authorities for many years. For the past five years the problems have been compounded because of the demand for land for oil palm plantations in Sarawak. Our position is that pemakai menoa is Native Customary Rights land in every sense of the term. SADIA’s Services

In the circumstances, the best that we can do is study each case that is referred to us on its facts on the ground. We refer the winnable cases to our panel of lawyers for vetting before they are filed with the court. Then our duty is to monitor the progress of the trials. We are happy to note that many cases in respect of NCR have been decided in favour of the landowners we helped.

Our Response to RSPO’s  Principles and Criteria

We support measures to impose the principles and criteria to advance the production, procurement and use of sustainable oil palm products. For Sarawak, we want to see the sustainable use of the land, including Native Customary rights land, for oil palm plantations or any income-generating development on land provided that the rights and interests of the landowners are recognized and protected and that the development brings benefits economically and socially. We subscribe to Criterion 2.3 of the Principles and Criteria adopted by the second Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, held in Kuala Lumpur in August 2004. This concept was pioneered by SALCRA thirty years ago: development of land without depriving the owners of their rights. I had a hand in the drafting the law for the creation of the land authority.  

Important Food Product

We recognize the role of palm oil as one of the most important exports for Malaysia. We realize that the world needs edible oils, and as such its production must continue to be sustainable. To be sustainable in the world market the product must meet with global standards by complying with the principles and criteria acceptable to the buyers of the product.  Let me recap the essentials of my message to the gathering today. Why should there be land disputes? Landowners, plantation companies and the government must understand that the Native rights over pemakai menoa have existed before the Land Code 1958, as with the rights created by the Natives under section 5 of the Code. They should work together. Otherwise problems will accumulate at the expense of economic development in the rural areas. The Government, before issuing leases to companies, must consult fully with the landowners so that their interests are protected. At the end of such leases the land must be given back to the owners or their legal representatives free from all encumbrances, and in a fit condition for continued agricultural use. 

Co-operation with Relevant NGOs

We hope to work closely with PAN-AP and the PCFS as a worthy partner. I’m sure the fact-finding team will take to heart our concerns over the infringement of our rights over land, the need for sustainable development of land already under plantations, our environmental and social problems arising out of competing interests between the landowners and the plantation owners. We would like our friends in other NGOs to help us out with ideas to address our problems.    Sidi MunanKuching, 23.April 2008

The first chief minister of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. Stephen Kalong Ningkan served as first chief minister of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak between July 1963 and September 1966. Prior to Sarawak’s joining the union of Malaya, Singapore, and North Borneo to form the Federation of Malaysia, Sarawak was a British colony. Born in Sarawak of Iban and Chinese ancestry, Ningkan is probably best known for triggering a constitutional crisis when he refused to vacate his office after being dismissed by the Sarawakian governor. Ningkan, as leader of the Council Negri (the state legislature), had purportedly ceased to command the confidence of the majority of the council. With the backing of the federal government in Kuala Lumpur, the governor proceeded to appoint a new chief minister. Ningkan’s refusal to vacate his office, resulting in a constitutional impasse that was perceived to threaten the fragile unity of Malaysia, aroused a vigorous reaction from the federal government.

On 14 September 1966, Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Malaysia’s head of state, proclaimed a state of emergency in Sarawak on the basis that its security was threatened by the constitutional crisis. Under emergency rule, Parliament was legislatively enabled to exercise further powers, effectively governing Sarawak from the federal capital. Ningkan appealed his dismissal all the way to the Privy Council in London, Malaysia’s then final appellate court, but lost his appeal for a declaration that he was still chief minister of Sarawak. A firm believer that Sarawakians were entitled to have full citizenship rights and to participate in Malaysia’s national development on a par with the Malays on the Malaya Peninsula, Ningkan slipped into political oblivion after his removal from office.

The constitutional crisis that Ningkan was embroiled in should be seen in the light of the volatile political matrix in Malaysia then. After Malaysia was created through the union of Malaya and Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak on 16 September 1963, communal tension rose over the core identity of Malaysia. The politically convenient union was short-lived and Singapore left the federation on 9 August 1965. At the federal level, there was concern that Sarawak and Sabah might follow Singapore and secede from Malaysia. The removal of Ningkan, albeit by constitutional means, was an attempt by the federal government in Kuala Lumpur to exercise indirect control by aligning East Malaysian political parties with the United Malays National Organization–dominated coalition at the center.

This site is meant for serious people discussing serious subjects about the present and the future of a native community which has been marginalized for a long time.

They (this community) maninly the Iban of sarawak have been deprived of privielages which are supposed to be their due since the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

They pinnned their hopes on the opportunities accorded to them by the new nation. For the past 45 years, one would have thought they would have been better off like the malay brothers in term of education, economic and political advancement for instance, when the new econimic policy was introduced for the benefit of the non-chinese, non-indian populations or the malays and other natives of sabah and sarawak, the iban as a community, almost a million strong have progressed very little compared to the others mainly because the affirmative action programme under the New Economic Police (NEP) has not trickle down to them to be visible in therms of their equity, participation, education, economic. The NEP was created for the benefit of the malays after the bloodshed in west malaysia in 1969 while the peaceful ibans were considered happy enough because there was no bloodshed in sarawak.

Many Ibans who had the chance to go to school and university were there out of their sheer determination and inteligence and if they had been given the chance, they would have prove their inteligence in many fields of study. Fortunately during the colonial time, a few of them were sent overseas to pursue their professional studies and many of them who came back had a hand in polictic and other profession but after malaysia all scholarship overseas were not available to them.

In politics, although the community produced the first chief minister (Stephen Kalong Ningkan) every obstacles was put in his way that he eventually succumed to the pressure ”and abdicated” his government rather unceremoniuosly. He was challenged by Alfred Jabu who was supported by non-dayaks. From then on the ibans split into various parties which suited sarawak rulers - a perfect example of divide and rule. Only God knows when will the ibans become a political force to be reckoned with again.

Recently, the deputy chief minister and minister in charge of rural development has accused the opposition of preventing the ibans from developing their land for development. This is not true at all. The ibans have been waiting all these years for land development. They have accepted oil palm plantation in lubok antu but what the iban objected to is that their land has been taken away from them and given / granted to a private plantation companies mainly from semenanjung, aided and abetted by local “instant Millionaire” among whom many are alfred jabu’s cronies and his party supporters. This Jabu deliberately has avoided to tell the public. (you can fool some people sometimes but not all people all the time)

There are todate 170 court cases involving land taken from the owners pending trials in sarawak. If the authority do not handle this problem properly, this problems will be compounded. 

Please prove us wrong.