SACRED MOUNTAIN: A panoramic view of Darud Sadong is seen from one of the Bukar villages.
Temenggong Robert Sulis Ridu
KUCHING: The Bukar Bidayuh community has thanked the state government for promptly revoking a licence to log timber on Darud (Mount) Sadong.
In a statement yesterday, spokesman Temenggong Robert Sulis Ridu, on behalf of community leaders, thanked Bidayuh leaders Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong and Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn for their invaluable support and assistance in connection with the issue.
“On behalf of the headmen from the 26 Bukar villages and members of the Bukar Bidayuh community, I wish to thank the state government led by Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, and especially Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, for the very prompt response and for recognising our legitimate right to our ancestral homeland, in line with the government’s stated policy directive on NCR (Native Customary Rights),” he said.
The 26 Bukar villages, located in Serian District, are within the state constituencies of Tebedu and Tarat, which are represented by Manyin and Sagah respectively.
Manyin is Infrastructure Development and Communication Minister while Sagah is State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Deputy Speaker.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Manyin announced that the authorities had agreed to revoke the license to log timber on Mount Sadong.
The agreement is said to have been reached after Manyin and Sagah met with Awang Tengah and Sarawak Forest Department acting director Sapuan Ahmad.
Mount Sadong, considered a sacred mountain to the Bukar Bidayuhs, came into the spotlight after some 1,000 angry residents representing the 26 Bukar villages held a peaceful demonstration on Sunday against the encroachment of their ancestral home.
Kampung Lanchang Sabai villagers spotted heavy machinery at the mountain sometime last year and subsequently lodged a police report.
Recently they also chased away workers marking trees for logging.
The 1,800-metre Mount Sadong is considered a symbol of cultural heritage and pride to the Bukar people, a sub-dialect Bidayuh group in the Serian District.
It also serves as water catchment area particularly for the villages of Tarat, Kakeng, Jenan, Bantang, Lanchang, Taee, Baru and Bunga.
Meanwhile, villagers from the Bukar area are considering setting up a committee or body to oversee the preservation and protection of the mountain.
This was suggested on the Save Mt Sadung aka Darud Sadung Facebook page set up immediately after last Sunday’s protest.