Latest news with #Borneoland
Scoop
3 days ago
- General
- Scoop
Logging Conflict Escalates In Sarawak As Penan Take A Stand
As Malaysian timber group Borneoland Timber Resources strips 4,000 tonnes of timber each month from protected forest, Indigenous communities have responded with blockades to defend their land. Indigenous Penan communities in Sarawak's Upper Baram region have recently set up blockades against large-scale logging activities by Borneoland Timber Resources Sdn Bhd ('Borneoland'), a politically-linked Malaysian logging company. Groups of locals fighting the encroachment have established blockades at Ba Olé (within the boundaries of Ba Data Bila), Long Benali and Ba Pengaran Kelian. Some of these blockades have since been dismantled by timber workers. In April alone, 162 logging trucks with an estimated load of 25 metric tons each left the forests of Ba Data Bila. This amounts to approximately 4,000 tons of timber, valued at around MYR 9 million (US$ 2.1 million), in just one month. The logging concession, granted last year without public tender, encompasses protected forest within the Upper Baram Forest Area. According to Sarawak Forest Director Hamden Mohammad, «the primary purpose of a protected forest is to preserve and safeguard the ecological integrity of the land, ensure environmental protection of soils and water, and in some cases, support productive forest activities.» Despite sustainability promises, Borneoland's timber operation lacks any kind of certification or publicly available social and environmental impact assessments. The area was part of a sustainability showcase project under the auspices of the International Tropical Timber Organization ITTO. The project collapsed last year after Sarawak's authorities unilaterally terminated the project. Earlier this year, eleven community leaders took legal action and applied for a judicial review in the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak, demanding the immediate recall of the 170,000-hectare timber license granted to Borneoland.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Sarawak Natives File Court Action To Stop Logging In Protected Forest
21 May 2025 - for immediate release Penan communities from Malaysian Borneo challenge large-scale logging operation in Sarawak's Upper Baram region Indigenous representatives from 11 communities in Sarawak's Upper Baram region have gone to court to protest the issuance of a logging licence to a politically-linked timber company. In a claim for judicial review filed in the High Court of Sarawak and Sabah, Penan community representatives call for the recall of a 170,000 hectare timber licence granted to Borneoland Timber Resources Sdn Bhd («Borneoland»), a private company based in Miri, Sarawak. Borneoland is controlled by Hii King Chiong, a local timber tycoon who has appeared in public with Sarawak Premier Abang Johari. Hii's company was awarded the timber concession in 2024 behind closed doors and without public tender. The area was formerly held by Sarawak timber giant Samling. It remains unclear why Hii's company was chosen, or whether his company made any payments for the timber licence, believed to be worth millions of dollars. Timber licence granted in violation of Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) principle In their lawsuit, a group of Penan elders led by Nilson Deng of Ba Data Bila state that the issuance of the timber licence, which encompasses their native customary territory, was made without their free, prior, and informed consent. They also argue that they have been deprived of their rights to object and to be heard. They also claim that the licence was granted without proper environmental and social impact assessments. The Penan accuse Borneoland of destroying Sarawak's last primary forests outside the state's totally protected areas. The company has already caused significant damage to forest areas used by the Penan for hunting, fishing and for collecting jungle produce. Part of the licence covers the 55,000 hectare Suling-Selaan Protected Forest which was gazetted in 2002. Protected forest is being destroyed instead of preserved In reply to the court action, Sarawak forest director Hamden Mohammad admitted that 'the primary purpose of a protected forest is to preserve and safeguard the ecological integrity of the land, ensure environmental protection of soils and water, and in some cases, support productive forest activities.' Satellite imagery however shows the heavy footprint of Borneoland's operations, even in areas that were defined as 'protection zone'. In particular, the west flank of the iconic Gunung Murud Kecil is under attack by the loggers. Lack of transparency inviting abuse and corruption Though the litigation that has been ongoing since January 2025, the Sarawak state government has so far failed to produce key documents such as environmental or social impact assessments, timber harvesting plans, and the timber licence granted to Borneoland. These documents are being withheld from the public in what Swiss environmental group Bruno Manser Fonds calls a 'scandalous lack of transparency that is inviting abuse and corruption'. ' My clients are calling on the court to quash the Director of Forest's decision to issue forest timber licence, and to stop the unlawful logging operation', said Miri-based lawyer Roland Engan. 'I will officially apply to court for all relevant documents pertaining to the logging operation. However, in the end this is a political problem. The Sarawak state government under Premier Abang Johari should never have issued this timber licence. It is high time for the Sarawak government to stop this kind of destructive logging that reminds us of the 1990s.'
