The rape of the Penan, and other shameful crimes

By Pak Bui

The government has finally admitted that vulnerable Sarawakians have been raped by logging workers in Baram.

The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development caved in to demands by NGOs and the electronic media. Malaysian civil society has been clamouring for justice for nearly a year. As a result, the Ministry released its National Taskforce report to PKR Women’s Chief Zuraida Kamaruddin this week.

Our wealthy logging companies behave as if they are kings in rural parts of Sarawak. Rape is an expression of power over the victim as much as it is a crime of passion or lust. Therefore it is no surprise to learn that schoolgirls as young as 10 years old have been molested, abducted and raped by loggers.

These loggers carry out these crimes because they can.

They exploit, torture and humiliate Penan girls, and girls from other rural Dayak communities, because they feel invincible.

Feeling invincible

The rapists know their victims live far from towns and have little recourse to protection or justice from the police.

The rapists are aware that most teachers in rural schools have been posted there from distant places against their will. Most would avert their eyes if there are any reports of sexual abuse of their students. Most rural teachers do not want to rock the boat. Instead, they yearn only to complete their “tour of duty” in the ulu and return to their homes in Peninsular Malaysia, without creating any fuss.

The rapists see that the Education Department has not provided transportation for poor rural students, even for those children living several days’ walk from their schools. The rapists observe that the Education Department has not pursued action against teachers who were accused of sexually exploiting Sarawakian children in the past. Why should loggers fear the Education Department, when teachers implicated in sexual exploitation of minors are merely transferred to other schools?

The rapists know that many village chiefs or Tua Kampung are on the payroll of the timber and plantation companies. The rapists understand that many village chiefs have been cowed by threats from timber companies, the companies’ hired thugs, or the companies’ Big Brother, the Sarawak Government. Such village leaders will not act to protect victims of sexual exploitation.

The rapists feel secure in the knowledge that even when police reports are made, as in the cases of “Cindy” and “Bibi” described in the Ministry’s report, Bukit Aman and the Sarawak Police sit on the reports and do nothing.

Marudi Police Chief DSP Jonathan Jalin, for example, insulted the victims of these sex crimes, when he said police “investigated” reports by asking timber camp workers and schoolteachers whether such crimes had taken place. The loggers and teachers said no, and the police looked no further.

The rapists rejoice in the lopsided coverage given by the local Sarawak press in favour of the logging companies. After all, timber conglomerates own these newspapers. The local press publish “stories” to support logging workers, boasting how loggers have “assisted” in transporting villagers, even though the entire world knows schoolgirls are raped when they hitch rides, and companies dismantle roads and bridges after they have removed all the valuable timber they can.

The rapists congratulate one another, because the Sarawak government will continue to defend logging and plantation companies against all criticism. State luminaries such as Deputy Chief Ministers Alfred Jabu and George Chan, and Land Minister James Masing, have all tried to cast doubt on reports of starvation, or rape of schoolgirls in rural areas.

Alfred Jabu and Housing Minister Abang Johari have claimed the Penan are being manipulated by foreigners. These local champions imply that the Penan cannot tell for themselves that logging companies have contributed to the hunger the Penan are suffering, and the sexual abuse visited on Penan schoolgirls.

James Masing was even quoted as saying the Penan are “good storytellers.” What does this make our State BN leaders?

Finally, the rapists can rest assured that the Federal BN support the State BN, to suppress any reports of wrongdoing. In Umno’s desperate attempts to stay in power, they will collaborate with the State BN. They place justice for rural Sarawakians firmly at the bottom of their list of priorities.

Obscene support

There are still Sarawakians who insist that the DAP and PKR are “Peninsular Malaysia” parties. These Sarawakians do not complain, though, when Sarawakian schoolgirls are raped and forced to endure unwanted pregnancies, while the State and Federal BN smile and shrug.

With all these rich and powerful forces ranged against the Penan, the future appears bleak.

Who, then, are on the side of the Penan and the rural Dayak in Malaysia?

The Penan themselves, first and foremost. Many Penan and other Dayak communities continue to mount peaceful blockades against the invasion of logging and plantation companies, against all odds.

Some elements of civil society, too, have spoken up for rural communities. They include SKY and Chee How. Others include parts of the “new media”, the Bar Council, Suaram, and other members of the Penan Support Group. And there have been some among the PKR leadership, such as Zuraida, and women’s NGOs, who have been willing to speak up for rural Sarawakians.

Then there are the rest of us. The authorities may not bring justice to the rapists, but we have the power, through the ballot box – and the duty – to see that justice is done.

Imagine your daughter or sister abducted and abused by loggers who had invaded your neighbourhood. Would you still believe the authorities touting this as “development?”

Or would you insist logging activities be withdrawn immediately, until logging and plantation activities can be made accountable and beneficial to local communities?

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