Four Penan tribes people were arrested and tortured by the Malaysia police field force on March 13, when they were trying to negotiate with the logging company, Samling, near their village at Long Kerong. One, Jangin Jalong, was beaten at the time of his arrest: an eyewitness saw him taken away with his nose bleeding.
The four were taken to Miri divisional police station for two nights and then sent to the Marudi district police station under remand until March 21 on charges of theft and mischief. They were then charged with illegal assembly, despite a March 17 press statement of the Miri police accusing them of destroying a logging company truck.
As soon as they were bailed at the magistrate's court in Marudi, they were rearrested on suspicion of stealing a chainsaw from the logging company. Their relatives and community heads denied that the four were involved in any incidents such as those alleged by the police. Police did not respond to the relatives' request that the four be allowed a medical checkup.
About midnight on March 13 in Miri police station, the police hit Pusu Bujang about the shoulders. They lifted him by pulling his hair, at the same time poking his eyes and face with their fingers.
Wan Musong was beaten on the chest, causing him to pass out. The police continued to kick him and then pushed his unconscious body up against a pile of barbed wire.
In the Marudi and Miri police stations, the four were given only half a packet of noodles a day to share among them. About an inch of very bitter coffee was given to them for drinking, forcing them to drink unboiled water from the tap. This treatment continued for seven days.
During interrogation in Miri police station, the police challenged them, saying: "If you Penan are brave, why don't you kill one of us so that we can start a war in the state of Sarawak?"
For almost a decade, the Penan have been quietly defending their lands and society against the intrusion of logging companies. They frequently receive rough and debasing treatment from the police, soldiers and forest officers, being remanded, charged and jailed.
Their farms and properties have been destroyed, and their lives disrupted by suspected murder and rape by perpetrators from outside their communities.
Their repeated appeals for government action on their plight have fallen on deaf ears. Today they face shortages of food and resources as their life-sustaining forest is logged; lack of basic facilities such as clinics, schools and transport; pollution of their water by logging activities; death threats; and cultural genocide.
The 37 indigenous tribes make up more than half of the population of Sarawak. The Penan (about 10,000 persons) are about 0.5% of the total population. All these indigenous tribes are practising and holding their customary rights, including rights to their ancestral territories.
Land and the forest are the source of the indigenous peoples' life. They clear a portion of land for farming for a period of time and later leave it fallow to restore the nutrients. The rivers supply them with water and fish; the forests supply them with animals, vegetables, fruits and herbal medicines.
This serene and harmonious living was destroyed by the encroachment of commercial logging, which began to reach into the interior rainforests of Sarawak in the mid-1970s. Since 1990, income from the timber industry has provided over 30% of the state's total income.
As early as 1984, permits to log 62.1 % of Sarawak's remaining total forest area had been issued (30% was already logged).
Logging continues ceaselessly day and night, especially during the dry season. Total log production for 1995 was 16.5 million cubic metres — a decline from the 1990-91 levels of 18 million cu m, but still nearly double the 9.2 cu m suggested by the International Tropical Timber Organisation.
Commercial logging impairs the livelihood of the indigenous communities. Water sources, polluted by soil erosion, are depleted of fish. The habitats of wild animals are destroyed, diminishing the meat supply. Plants and herbs used as medicines are lost. As well, the peoples' customary rights are destroyed by militarising of these areas.
Although the 1958 Sarawak Land Code and the 1953 Sarawak Forest Ordinance had recognised native customary rights, the authorities have not respected these rights in practice. Since 1980, many indigenous communities have awakened one morning to discover their ancestral territories being invaded by bulldozers of the logging companies, which hold licences from the authorities.
Since 1987, Penan communities have repeatedly barricaded logging roads in attempts to defend their last chance of survival in a peaceful way.
However, their peaceful protest actions have been met by more suppression and threats. The authority sent police field forces, soldiers and forest officers to forcefully dismantle their barricades and disperse the people. In one instance in 1992, a thousand riot police armed with machine guns dismantled a Penan blockade.
The Penan people are continuing their struggle because they have no choice. Their demands are:
1. Recognition by the federal government and Sarawak state government of all native customary rights.
2. A comprehensive demarcating of customary land, with immediate documentation.
3. A stop to all logging activities in areas where disputes over the land exist pending the demarcation; after demarcation, a cancellation of all timber licences encroaching on customary land.
4. Fair compensation to native communities for land and property already destroyed.
5. Withdrawal of all prosecutions under section 90B of the Sarawak Forest Ordinance, and repeal of the same; cessation of all police actions against peaceful protests by the native communities.
6. Repeal of the Internal Security Act 1960 and the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance 1969, which have been used to detain persons working for the cause of the native customary rights.
7. Supply of basic facilities to these communities.
8. A comprehensive forest policy on non-customary land that will ensure sustainable usage of forests.
9. The police to conduct detailed investigations into all cases of harassment and brutality lodged by the Penan villagers.
[Compiled from information supplied by Malaysian supporters of the Penan.]