Over 10,000 people were displaced by the Bakun Dam, a
massive dam that submerged 700 square kilometers of rich tropical
forests and traditional farm land in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.
Over 500
people continued to live in the flooded area, staying on 18 islands
that were once the hill tops of their traditionally owned land. Now the
Chief Minister, Abdul Taib 
Mahmud, on behalf of Sarawak State Government wants to extinguish their land rights
too.
Mahmud, on behalf of Sarawak State Government wants to extinguish their land rights
too.
Taib recently announced the formation of "Bakun Islands
National Park", which would encompass all the highlands currently
inhabited by the remaining indigenous people from the region. The
government announcement about the park stated “no claim to any rights or
privileges in or over the area intended ... shall be entertained".
In
other words, all indigenous land rights claims in the designated
National Park area will be deemed null and void.
The indigenous people were neither consulted, nor informed, about the
plans to gazette this national park. The notice was only posted in the
newspaper, which -- as the government knows -- isn't accessible in these
remote regions.
- In the meantime, activist group, 'Borneo Project' is on the move to get the people support to sign a petition against the land grab by the Sarawak Government.
Source: Change.org
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