Following the cancellation of the Baram Dam, the communities of Baram are proud to announce the launch of the Baram Conservation Initiative. The Baram Conservation Initiative is a community driven effort that intends to protect the rainforest, establish sustainable livelihood systems, and prevent the expansion of large scale commercial agriculture and extractive industries in the […]

Nine Orang Asal champions including a former member of the Senoi Peraq, the elite Orang Asli armed force received an award today from Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Bin Ali, Chief Minister of Selangor at the International Day of The World’s Indigenous Peoples Celebration for their contributions towards advancing indigenous rights in Malaysia. Winners of

Miri – Village folks in Baram were enthusiastic when informed about a proposal made to the Sarawak state government for a rainforest park to be created in Ulu Baram. The concept of the Taman Damai Baram is for a primary jungle to be jointly maintained and managed by the communities living in the area with

We, the undersigned Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are extremely shocked, angered and saddened by the untimely demise of our comrade and friend, Bill Kayong from a drive by assassination yesterday morning at the traffic light next to eMart, Senadin in Miri, Sarawak. We condemn such heinous crime and urge the police to investigate thoroughly and

(BASEL / SWITZERLAND) Komeok Joe and Peter Kallang, two indigenous activists from Sarawak, Malaysia, have been honoured with the Bruno Manser Prize for Moral Courage. The Prize is named after rainforest hero Bruno Manser and honours personalities who have proven moral courage in defending the environment and human rights. Komeok Joe and Peter Kallang are

Miri – The Auditor General’s report concerning the Murum dam’s excessiveness is yet another prove of a well establish fact that mega dams are bad investments. Therefore Sarawak should stop constructing mega dams but launch into alternative energy sources. In the report by Malaysian Auditor General, which was quoted in the Star newspaper on the

BERSIH 2.0 has compiled the preliminary reports received by the Pemantau Sarawak Committee after observing the 11th Sarawak Election from nomination day until polling day. In total, 90 Pemantau volunteers were mobilised in five hot seats, Telang Usan, Senadin, Bawang Assan, Tasik Biru and Batu Kitang. The Committee also received reports through the Pemantau Hotline.

(Canberra, Australia) An Australian Senate inquiry into foreign bribery will look into money-laundering allegations against the family of Abdul Taib Mahmud Sarawak, the current Governor and former Chief Minister of the Malaysian state of Sarawak. On Friday, the Australian Senate Economics References Committee acknowledged receipt of a joint submission by the Swiss Bruno Manser Fund and

Pemantau expresses the utmost concern of the multiple election offences committed in Tasik Biru Constituency with no regard or respect for electoral processes in a working democracy. A team of Pemantau has been stationed for the past two weeks in Tasik Biru area and have recorded instances of elections offences listed below; 1)    Money Politics /

(LONG LAMAI & KUCHING/ SARAWAK / MALAYSIA) The Penan living at the upper reach of the Baram River in Sarawak, Malaysia, request the Chief Minister Adenan Satem to issue a moratorium on logging and plantations in their home area. They explain the need for a moratorium with the fast speed of deforestation threatening the last

Kota Kinabalu – Jannie Lasimbang, a prominent human rights and indigenous rights leader, is set to go to trial 3-4 May 2016 at the Kota Kinabalu Magistrate Court. The prosecution of Lasimbang has drawn criticism and over 100 civil society organization from around the world which signed a petition condemning the ongoing judicial harassment and

  PHOENIX, ARIZONA (US). The Swiss-based Bruno Manser Fund calls on US and Malaysian prosecutors and the Sarawak state government to investigate allegations that multi-billion dollar real estate investments in the United States may have been funded by proceeds of illegal logging and corruption by the Malaysian Yaw family, the owners of the Samling timber

We the indigenous community from these six Kampungs are around 2,500 in numbers. Due to the pressing nature of the situation, We the G6 indigenous communities have set up a Jawatankuasa Bertindak G6. Majority of us in this region are in the hard core poverty brackets and rely heavily on the surrounding mangroves for our

International electoral ‘rules of the game’ calls for a level playing field during any type of elections. A legal framework that limits access to the process and undermines the means to engage in a fair contest, or lacks some minimum rules conducting the conduct of all players in the process, is basically deemed as a tool to favour

Kampung Sinar Baru Gum Gum, a village comprised of Orang Asal from Dusun and Orang Sungai ethnicity, sought for a court order on 21 April 2016 to stop the Sandakan Municipal Council (SMC) from clearing their Native Reserve land. The said land was gazetted as a Native Reserve since 1988. However, in 2004, an immigrant

The Penan communities from Upper Baram have sent in an official proposal for a  „Community Managed Protected Area in the Upper Baram“ to the government. In the letter, they invite the representatives to visit the area. The official proposal follows a meeting between the Sarawak Forest Department and Penan representatives in February in Miri where

FINMA CEO Mark Branson highlights money-laundering risks with Malaysia deals at annual media conference “A number of Swiss banks are involved in both the corruption scandal surrounding Brazil’s Petrobras and the suspicious cash flows linked to the Malaysian sovereign fund 1MDB. FINMA has carried out investigations into more than 20 banks in connection with these

KOTA KINABALU: Villagers impacted by the proposed Kaiduan Dam must be consulted and collectively give the nod before researchers are allowed access to carry out a Social Impact Assessment (SIA), the Task Force Against Kaiduan Dam (TAKaD) said today. The movement’s chairman Nousi Giun said if villagers decide that they do not wish to allow researchers from the

The unanticipated decision by Sarawak State Chief Minister to revoke the gazettement for land earmarked for the Baram dam site and reservoir has been commended by indigenous leaders around the world. “The decision to halt the construction of the Baram dam is timely with the mounting evidence that the unpredictable and extreme weather caused by climate change would further

ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. The University of Adelaide and the Art Gallery of South Australia are ignoring calls to restitute controversial gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars received from Taib Mahmud, a controversial Malaysian politician. According to Channel Seven’s Today Tonight show, both institutions refused to be interviewed on a request by indigenous leaders from

MIRI – There is an atmosphere of triumph and jubilation among villagers of Baram after the land reserved for the Baram dam and the reservoir was returned to them. But there is also sense of cautions. Following the news that the gazettes which extinguished the rights of ownership on their land have now been withdrawn, the

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) lauds the Sarawak State Government for heeding the calls to revoke the extinguishment of the native customary rights (NCR) of between 26 and 30 villages affected by the Baram Dam, located between Long Na’ah and Long Kesseh. SAM also commends the affected communities in Baram for steadfastly making their concerns heard

Kota Kinabalu – Mediation by the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, resulted in the amicable settlement of a 15-year dispute with over 115 trial days between NCR-holders in Tongod on one side and large corporations and the Sabah government on the other. Justice Douglas Primus of the Kota Kinabalu High Court today issued

MIRI – For the coming Sarawak state election, endorsement and support is promised for electoral candidates and political parties who embrace the manifesto on substantive issues crucial to the life of ordinary Sarawakians and to the environment. Aiming at dealing with practical issues crucial to the life of ordinary Sarawakians and to the environment, a coalition

(KUCHING, SARAWAK / MALAYSIA) It is a great victory for the indigenous peoples of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo: Today, it became public that the State Government under Chief Minister Adenan Satem has officially cancelled the plans for the construction of a controversial mega dam on the Baram river. In a letter to Harrison Ngau, legal