DESMOND DAVIDSON
A Sarawak minister has admitted that plantation and logging firms in the Borneo state have hired thugs and gangsters to threaten native landowners while local police remain idle and ignore the complaints.
Sarawak Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing (pic, left) has said that the threats against the native customary rights (NCR) landowners in Melikin, Serian, has prompted him to submit a “detailed account” to the federal police in Bukit Aman and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to enable them to investigate further.
“The non-action of the police is worrying me,” he told The Malaysian Insider in state capital Kuching.
The NCR landowners have claimed that two companies operating there have encroached on their land and the thugs silenced their protests. Masing also disclosed that the two companies are at “war” with each other over land matters.
“We cannot allow gangsters to rule this country and harass ordinary folk who try to protect and safeguard their properties,” he added.
Online news portal Sarawak Report had reported three days ago of “political interference” in the police inaction.
The portal claimed it could “reveal” how four gangster leaders, who were arrested “after the discovery of an enormous illegal arms cache at the disputed logging and plantation concessions at Melikin”, were freed “on instructions from ministers”.
Sarawak Report claimed the two companies had been granted controversial licences on NCR lands in the area.
It named the companies as United Teamtrade Sdn Bhd and Memaju Jaya Sdn Bhd.
The portal also claimed that the companies have strong ties to “powerful BN political figures in Sarawak”, referring to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
“Information on the shocking decision to release the armed thugs was passed to Sarawak Report after the latest spate of assaults on native customary rights landowners, including the hospitalising of a local Tua Rumah Sujau, who was rammed off his motorbike and then beaten with iron bars and sticks,” it claimed.
Land owners have claimed that they had over the years, lodged reports of intimidation and assaults with the police, but none have been acted on.
They claimed police had instead arrested many of those who lodged the reports.
That, Masing said, had resulted in the people not trusting the police.
“How can you allow this to happen? I want the police to take immediate action to stop it. The state government is taking the matter very seriously.
“The fear among the people of Melikin is real. They even have photographs showing their wounds inflicted by the gangsters. The police should see the pictures,” the minister said.
Masing said he had also received many calls and text messages from landowners throughout the state expressing concern over the presence of these thugs and the failure of the police to act on the reports lodged against the thugs.
Hornbill Unleashed 
Good that Mr Masing is no longer in denial of the misdeeds of some of his colleagues. Said to note that the two two top dog, taib and jabu remained in denial and keeping quiet about this problem choosing only to sing their own praises.
Taib said he did a very good job as cm for the last 32 years but he forgot to mention that he created so many poor natives, made so many to suffer in the hands of his crony Chinese businessman who treated them as slaves especially those operating in the rural areas, took away so much lands from the natives to give and sell to his Chinese cronies and now he is on his last leg of his ” Successful ” cm career, as he called it, he still do not see how much the people especially the rural people suffered because of him.
And jabu, he is the same as his master taib!
How many successful Dayak businessman have they created compared to other races?
Comment by brian — November 11, 2013 @ 11:26 AM |
Hello!!!! Dr. James Masing……and what “detailed account” are you talking about? First you have started to put the blame on the police for inaction and do you expect Bukit Aman to investigate? IGP might throw your report in refuse bin and MACC( Malaysian All Cronies Corporation ) won’t give a damn about it. The latter is only good for chasing after Sardines and Salmons?
In the first place, you have known already that your colleage, state ministers, are involved. Are you brave enough in pointing the gun at them? Only political crooks can release thugs and gangters in police lockup and that is possible due to endless possibilities under Ajib’s administration. In other words, the innocents will be locked up and the criminals will released. Period.
Comment by Justice Lover — November 11, 2013 @ 10:12 AM |
Its good to see Masing initiating action unlike in the past where he, Jabu and Taib always denied there is such things happening saying that its only the imagination of foreign NGOs who work in cahoot with locals. Why now Masing? Trying to score political points or have you just woken up? Remember, all this happen under your BN watch. Your boss over obsession with building dams also contribute to the greed for free timber. Or perhaps building the dams is only an excuse to steal the timber? Sarawakians have to pay for the damn dams without getting anything in return. Electricity rates haven’t come down in spite of huge excess of electricity generated. All in the name of development? Such development we can do without. Just get the federal government to return to us some of the oil money and we should be fine, thank you.
Comment by apai — November 11, 2013 @ 9:34 AM |