Another arson attempt on the house of village chief?

 By Simon Peter

MIRI, March 23, 2015. – Around midnight on March 22, a house belonging to Tuai Rumah Jambai Ak Jeli, located at Taman Jelita, Miri was purposely set on fire in a suspected arson which have apparent links to the current Native Customary Rights (NCR) land dispute involving five longhouses of the Iban community of Sungai Bekelit, Sungai Serunggut and Sungai Kelitang, Sibuti sub-district, Miri.

"This is the second arson case to befall Tuai Rumah Jambai, whereby exactly three  months earlier, on 22 December 2014, his car was torched by unknown persons right in front of his house.

Slightly burnt marks on the wall of TR Jambai's house.Note traces of inflammable liquid on the floor and wall.

"In that incident, the car was a total loss," Borneo Research Institute of Malaysia (BRIMAS) executive director Mark Bujang said in a statement today.

"Fortunately, this time neighbours were alerted to the fire and managed to put the fire out just in time to save the house. At that particular time, TR Jambai and his family were not in the house as they were at their longhouse at Sungai Bekelit," he said.

Mark said a police report was lodged by TR Jambai immediately after he got news of the incident and the next morning he rushed back to his house with police officers to inspect the damage caused by the fire.

"Three broken bottles were found at the scene to indicate that this is an act of arson.

"According to a neighbour, he was alerted to the sound of broken glass that night as he was about to go to sleep.

"He went to look out his window to see a fire by the side of TR Jambai’s house and immediately rushed out to alert the other neighbours to put out the fire.

"According to TR Jambai, he suspected the two act of arson were committed by the same group of people which he suspected are gangsters employed by the plantation company to intimidate him and his family to relinquish his community’s NCR to the company Tung Huat Pelita Niah Sdn. Bhd.

TR Jambai's car which was torched by unknown persons on Dec 22 last year

"According to witnesses, a white Toyota Vios with tinted windscreens was seen moving around the vicinity of TR Jambai’s house before the fire and immediately accelerated out of the area once the fire started.

"The same Toyota Vios was also seen at Sungai Bekelit and Tung Huat’s office previously leading to the suspicion of the company’s involvement in the arsons.

"Gangsters in the guise of being employed as security firms and Auxiliary Police engaged by the said company have been harassing and intimidating the five longhouses in the said area," he said.

The Ibans from the five longhouses are protesting against Tung Huat Pelita Niah Plantation Sdn. Bhd. for trespassing into their native customary rights (NCR) land situated at Sungai Bekelit, Sungai Serunggut and Sungai Kelitang. The  longhouses are Rumah Jeli, Rumah Rajit, Rumah Jambai, Rumah Edward Ekau and Rumah Duat.

The company was issued a provisional lease (PL) of Lot 2, Block 9, Bukit Kisi Land District for the purpose of an oil palm plantation.

The case has already been tried at the Miri High Court last year, but the Miri High Court did not recognise all the land claimed by the longhouses as NCR.

The Miri High Court also did not recognise all the land with the PL of the company as belonging to the company either.

Therefore the status quo still remains and both parties in the suit are appealing the decision made in the Miri High Court.

On Dec 24, 2014, the Miri Police Chief ACP Gan Tian Kee led a force of 80 police personnel to Sungai Bekelit to dismantle the blockade erected by the longhouse residents against the said company.

BRIMAS condemns this act of violence and intimidation perpetrated by the said company in order to intimidate and force the Iban villagers to surrender their rights so that the company can exploit the land for commercial purposes.

BRIMAS demands that the police and authorities look into this incident seriously as we do not want another bloody incident or loss of life to happen if the authorities do not investigate prompting the Iban villagers to retaliate and take the law into their own hands.