Unstoppable logging activities could cause devastating disasters in Upper Baram as what was happening in Sumatra, warns Abun Sui

MIRI, Dec 7 2025: Senator Abun Sui Anyit has urged the state government to  protect native customary rights (NCR) land and stop logging activities in Upper Baram to prevent devastating disasters as what were happening in Sumatra recently.

Senator Abun Sui Anyit: The upper river regions serve as nature’s first line of defence — regulating water flow, preventing deadly floods, and keeping our soil intact.  

He said what was happening in Sumatra recently stood as a powerful warning that when nature is pushed beyond its limits, it will push back with unimaginable force.

“Three major catastrophes in recent years to hit Sumatra — each wiping out villages, claiming many lives, and displacing thousands — must serve as a lesson for us in Sarawak,” Abun, who is also PKR Hulu Rajang branch chairman, said in a statement.

 He said the recent floods and landslides in Sumatra caused by monsoon rains and tropical storms had triggered deadly mudflows and widespread destruction across North Sumatra, Aceh and West Sumatra.

He recalled that violent floodwaters and landslides engulfed homes, forcing entire communities to flee, last year.

He said torrential rainfall caused by a tropical cyclone submerged villages, destroyed infrastructure and resulted in significant loss of life, described as a “second tsunami” by local leaders.

“All these tragedies share a common root cause, that is, the destruction of upper watershed ecosystems and uncontrolled deforestation,” Abun, who is also the PKR NCR land bureau chairman, said.

He  said he stands with the indigenous communities of Sarawak to say clearly and firmly that “we cannot wait for Sarawak to suffer the same fate as in Sumatra”.

“The upper river regions serve as nature’s first line of defence — regulating water flow, preventing deadly floods, and keeping our soil intact.

“Trees absorb heavy rainfall and stabilise riverbanks. When these natural guardians are removed through uncontrolled logging, rivers swell uncontrollably, landslides increase, and lives are put at risk,” he warned.

He said he is deeply concerned about ongoing logging activities by certain companies in Sarawak’s upper river areas.

He said the degradation of these critical watersheds not only threatens the environment but also gravely undermines the rights and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples.

“We must respect NCR land not merely as legal rights, but as rights of life itself,” he said, adding that indigenous communities depend entirely on the forest and rivers — for food, water, medicine, culture and the future of their children.

“The forests are their marketplace; the rivers are their highway; the lands are their identities and souls.

“If these are destroyed, so too are their livelihood, their dignities and their heritage as guardians of the lands for generations,” Abun said.

He urged the state government to immediately halt all logging activities by companies in the upper river regions of Sarawak and enforce real and uncompromising protection of NCR land.

“This is not only an indigenous issue. It is a Sarawak issue, because when catastrophic floods occur, the water does not choose its victims.

“We must not wait until houses are swept away, children become victims, villages disappear overnight and lives are lost before we finally open our eyes,” he said.

He said actions must be taken today, not tomorrow.

“I call on all community leaders, non-governmental organisations , civil society groups, and the people of Sarawak to unite in safeguarding our land, our rivers, and our forests.

“For the safety of our state, our collective identity and the generations growing up today and those yet to be born.

“If we fail today, our grandchildren will one day ask us why did you allow everything to be destroyed?"

“We must ensure that they never have to ask that question,” Abun stressed.