Saturday 22 December 2012

Bruno Manser Fund's next target is to stop the Annual Congress of the International Hydropower Association in Sarawak next year

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends,

As an eventful year is coming to its end, the BMF team would like to thank you for your interest in our work and your invaluable support.

In cooperation with our valued partners in Malaysia and from around the world, the Bruno Manser Fund's campaigns and projects have had considerable success. In particular, we are happy to see that the Taib government's plans for twelve new dams in Sarawak are increasingly being challenged by local opinion leaders and by the international community. The withdrawal of Rio Tinto and Hydro Tasmania from Taib's selfish plans is proof that international investors can be forced to withdraw from projects that are neither transparent, necessary nor sustainable. In the new year, we will increase public pressure on the remaining foreign players, particularly Sarawak Energy's Norwegian CEO, Torstein Sjøtveit, and the International Hydropower Association that is planning to hold its annual 2013 congress in Kuching. - If you haven't written to Mr. Sjøtveit yet, there is still time to do it (under tds@sarawakenergy.com). It is a sign of his nervousness that he personally rebuts all critical e-mails sent to him while refusing to acknowledge that he is just Taib's highly-paid helper.

In Switzerland, our criminal complaint against UBS over the laundering of over 90 million USD of timber corruption funds from Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has prompted the Attorney General to open a crimnial investigation, which is currently under way. We have no doubt that UBS will be heavily fined and hope that the case will cause them to overhaul their due diligence procedures for customers form the timber and plantation sector.

We are also proud that the last year has seen improvements for our Penan partners at the community level which we are happy to continue supporting. We would like to wish you all the best and salute you with a picture message from Long Benali, a community that has successfully kept Samling's loggers at bay and sends regards from their well-preserved primary rainforests across the world.

We wish you wholeheartedly a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season and all the best for the New Year.

Your BMF team

Rejoice, the rays of light have penetrated through the darkness in Sarawak, says Baru Bian in his Christmas message

BARU BIAN’S CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR MESSAGE 2012

HOPE

The prophets of old prophesied the birth of Jesus Christ years before it came to pass. It came when the nation of Israel was going through difficult times spiritually, socially and politically. Therefore, such prophecy was of great comfort to the people of Israel then, as it gave them hope that one day things would change through the coming of a “Light” giving hope to those living in darkness.

From reading the gospel of John we learn that Jesus is that “Light”, when he said: “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” [John 12: 46]. The Bible talks about a man we all know now as John the Baptist who came as a witness to the coming of the Light, when the Bible said:There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” [John 1:6-9].

This Christmas season, I am compelled to share with you, my friends, a message of hope akin to the time and era when the prophecy of the birth of Jesus the Messiah was first uttered.

The people of Sarawak and Malaysia have, for the past decades, been subject to oppression by political forces in ways both subtle and harsh. The judicial crisis in 1988 paved the way for suppression and control of our liberties and our well-being in every way imaginable, affecting us in all aspects of our lives – our civil liberties, freedom of association and beliefs, our economic opportunities and social interactions.

We have embarrassingly acquired the reputation of being the top country for corruption according to Transparency International, and the 3rd in the world for illicit capital flight according to Global Financial Integrity.

In Sarawak, the people have progressed little, having been governed by those who have no understanding of the plight of those who are sidelined and marginalized. Numerous Sarawakians are mired in poverty, many have lost their lands and livelihood to timber companies, plantation tycoons, dam builders and their political masters. A large proportion of the rural population have poor access to basic amenities such as water and electricity, healthcare and education, and the benefits of development. Sarawak, in spite of being rich in resources has the ignominy of being the 2nd poorest state in the country.

Poor our people may be in material wealth, but we are rich in hope and faith. With hearts filled with hope in the promise of better times to come, we have been praying faithfully that we may be led out of the darkness and the tyranny of corruption, oppression and suppression.

Sarawak entered her Jubilee year on 16 September 2012. For the Christians in Sarawak, this Jubilee year holds great significance, for the Jubilee addresses land and property rights. To the indigenous people of Sarawak, the land is their life. Many lives have been disrupted and destroyed with each timber licence issued, each plantation established and each dam built.

This Jubilee year, we look for the fulfillment of the promise of release and restoration, of emancipation and social justice. Equality for those who are disenfranchised and marginalised will see God’s Providence for all, so the goods of the land are the common property of the people.

In the face of the many challenges that confront us, we have reason to rejoice, for rays of light have penetrated through the darkness. We have seen wrongdoings of the ruling elite exposed by the work of friends such as Radio Free Sarawak and various NGOs. We have witnessed the awakening of the people to the abuses and excesses of those who purport to care for them. We have walked with those who have dared to stand up for their rights against the government that would bully them.

Today, I rejoice with my Christian brothers and sisters as we celebrate this holy day. I am filled with a quiet joy and confident anticipation of the triumph to come in the New Year. The breakthrough promised by God is imminent; God is faithful to those who believe.  

I wish all Sarawakians and all our friends throughout Malaysia and around the world a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Baru Bian
State Assemblyman
N70 Ba’ Kelalan/
Chairman, PKR Sarawak