300 natives march to Miri court to demand customary rights protection

Participants of the Sarawak Indigenous Solidarity March headed to the Miri courthouse where a memorandum was submitted to Senator Abun Sui Anyit. (Tahabas, Save Rivers and Sahabat Alam Malaysia pic) PETALING JAYA: Nearly 300 natives from various parts of Sarawak participated in a march in Miri today to demand the protection of native customary rights (NCR).

Jointly organised by Hak Tanah Adat Bangsa Asal Sarawak, Save Rivers and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), the Sarawak Indigenous Solidarity March drew natives from Miri, Marudi, Baram, Niah, Belaga, Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching.

Dressed in traditional attire, they gathered at the Miri City Fan before marching to the Miri courthouse, where they handed over a memorandum to Senator Abun Sui Anyit.

The memorandum will also be shared with MPs and assemblymen in Sarawak.

Save Rivers managing director Celine Lim said the march was evidence that Sarawak's indigenous people still encountered challenges in the protection of their rights and territorial domain.

SAM's Rety Sendi expressed hope that those in power would respect and uphold the rights of the state's native folk.

"We still have so many pending cases involving NCR and land encroachments in court, and we hope that (this march) will move the court to the cause of our people," he said in a press release.

The memorandum outlined the challenges the natives face, including threats to their NCR land due to industrial activities like logging and the planting of oil palm plantations.

It also said the community's prior and informed consent had not been obtained before developments affecting NCR land were approved, while institutional protections regarding resource exploitation were inadequate.

They called for historical aerial photographs of NCR land to be declassified and made accessible online. They also urged the state government to set up a public database on all NCR territories surveyed by the state land and survey department.