Is it only floods that are plunging Malaysians into the terrible suffering that comes with being made homeless? Apparently not - the government seems keen to imitate the rains that are inflicting homelessness and destitution on Malaysians around the country.

This post is really late but: On Jan 4th, Sarawak state officials demolished an Iban longhouse near Bintulu that was home to about 120 individuals. Some 300 officers - many reportedly armed with pistols and M-16s - and 20 vehicles were mobilised to forcefully remove most (not all) of the items within the longhouse and then destroy the home.

They did so during the day, when most of the men were working and little resistance was expected from the women, elderly and children. The inhabitants were then placed at a temporary shelter where each family was allocated a 9ft by 10ft room, and all their belongings dumped in a single pile outside. All this apparently so that the land could be used by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI). Since when were plants more important than people?

If this outrageous actions sound reminiscent of Kg. Berembang, the bad news is that the similarities don’t stop there. The inhabitants of this longhouse had an eviction notice served on them in October ‘06, but they challenged that eviction in the Bintulu High Court, where a judgement had yet to be made. Once again, Malaysian authorities have showed utter contempt of court and disregard for due process as they viciously moved to demolish the buildings before a court ruling had been made.

I received an e-mail saying that the Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) is trying to raise funds for zinc sheets and such to help build temporary shelters for the residents - or at least shelters for their belongings which were left in the open. Any financial or material help can be channeled through SADIA, and they can be contacted at sadiahq[at]gmail.com

Thankfully, a decent amount of documentation has been done on this incident.

- An article dated Nov ‘06 detailing the pre-demolition struggle.

- Comprehensive entries at mylongkang.com (a great source!); see especially the first post.

- Statement by DAP state assemblyman for Kidurong, Chiew Chin Sing.

- Articles in the Star and the NST (the latter suggests other longhouses in the area may risk suffering a similar fate)

- A photo of a Borneo Post article (courtesy mylongkang.com) where the government claims that the longhouse was built illegally after the land was alienated to MARDI in 1993. There are some doubts as to the veracity of this claim, but even if it were true, there can be no justifying the brutal, high-handed manner of eviction and complete disrespect towards and contempt of the judicial process.

Tags: Government Appropriation, Law Enforcement, Local Government //