In their own words, one Iban Dayak community tells the story of their ten year struggle to protect traditional farms, orchards and primary forest reserves from industrial pulp plantations authorized by the Sarawak State government without due process of law or compensation.
This 27-minute film was a collaborative effort by The Borneo Project and the community of Rumah Nor, Sebauh, Sekabai, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia over several months in 2006 and 2007. It was made possible with support from Threshold Foundation and Borneo Project members.
Film synopsis:
This film is an educational introduction to Nor Nyawai & Others vs. Borneo Pulp Plantation & Others. In that precedent-setting court case of 2001, the High Court decided that Rumah Nor did indeed have sufficient evidence to claim native customary rights over all of their traditional territory ("pemakai menoa"), including farms and fallows ("temuda") and the “disputed area”, which had been their primary forest reserve (“pulau galau”) destroyed by Borneo Pulp Plantation, a subsidiary of Borneo Pulp & Paper and Asia Pulp & Paper.
In 2005, their victory was partially overturned in State Appeals Court due to “lack of evidence of occupation of the disputed area”. Confusingly, all their lands outside the disputed area were still considered by the court to be valid native customary rights lands.
The community is appealing that decision in Federal Court, the highest court of Malaysia. The Federal Court must decide what does or does not constitute “sufficient evidence” and “occupation” for native customary land rights claims in Malaysia, especially primary forest reserves used for hunting, gathering, fishing, medicinal plants and rattans. This decision will set an extremely important precedent for hundreds of indigenous communities across the country that are currently fighting for rights to their ancestral lands, especially forests.
More articles on Rumah Nor:
Breaking News: Rumah Nor Blockading Again, November 2007
Indigenous Land Claim Invalidated by Appeals court, 2005
Ailing BPP Taken Over by Sarawak Government, 2002
Village Mapping Program Threatened, 2002
New Law Will Make Community Mapping Illegal, 2001
Borneo Native Group Scores Land Claim Victory, 2002
A Tribal Struggle to Preserve What's Left of a Borneo Rainforest, 2001
Historic Victory for Sarawak Natives, 2001
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