Plain disgraceful act to dismantle blockade, says SAVE Rivers

MIRI, Oct 31, 2014: Save Sarawak Rivers Network (SAVE Rivers) viewed the actions of the Sarawak Forestry Corporation enforcement officers (SAPU) together with the police to collude with a company doing illegal logging to dismantle the blockade at KM15 Long Kesseh, Baram as plain disgraceful.

Picture: Tapang trunks cut into shorter logs

"What is more shocking is that the one of the officers from SAPU by the name of Ahsan Odau claims he has the authority to dismiss the native customary rights (NCR) claims of the Kayan community of Long Kesseh, that the logging company has absolute rights to log the area and order the police to arrest the Baram Dam protesters that erected the blockade there," SAVE Rivers chairman Peter Kallang said today.

Last Wednesday, at the Miri Sessions Court, he said one of the managers of MM Golden Sdn Bhd, Teng Yek Foo, and a boat operator, Laseh Seling was found guilty of trying to bribe the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) officers to not report their illegal logging activities at Long Kesseh.

He said MM Golden was extracting Tapang and protected species of trees within the area of Long Kesseh, especially at the proposed site of the Baram HEP Dam without the proper permit from the Forestry Department.

 Kallang said:"MM Golden is the sub-contractor to Autorich Sdn. Bhd, which claims to have the licence to log the  area, but now this so called logging license of Autorich has come under question as to how the Forestry Department can issue a logging licence over logged over areas without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) done, as required by the law.

"SAVE Rivers once again strongly demands that MM Golden and Autorich and/or its agents and/or contractors to immediately stop their illegal logging activities and leave the site.

"SAVE Rivers also strongly demands that the Sarawak Forestry Department and the Sarawak Forestry Corporation cancelled any permits or licence issued to Autorich and/or its contractors and/or agents that is overlapping over the NCR lands of the community at Long Kesseh.

"SAVE Rivers demands that action be taken if M.M. Golden and Autorich if they are logging illegally at the said area," he added.

 Picture: A sawmill where the tapang trunks are being cut into shorter logs

In connection with the illegal logging and endorsement by the Forestry Department, represented by their officer, Ahsan Odau, a police report and complaint to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in Miri was made by Anyie Eng from Naha’ on Oct 28 requesting the authority to investigate the illegal logging and the involvement of the Forestry Department.