Residents from 26 villages surrounding the sacred Sadong mountain range have succeeded in calling for the government to stop logging on their sacred NCR land.
Last Sunday, roughly 1,000 residents from the 26 villages surrounding the mountain range staged a peaceful protest at Kampung Taee. They protested against the permit issuance, which was granted to a private company to extract timber at an area covering 474 ha of Mount Sadong, a Bukar Bidayuh heritage settlement site dating back to the Brooke era.
On 18th November, a facebook page was set up by the community and has been gaining overwhelming support over recent days. Could the government be cracking under the pressure?
BN Tebedu assemblyman YB Michael Manyin Jawong yesterday announced:
“I have already had a discussion with them and they have given us the assurance that this is no more an issue. The licence will be revoked. The company did not ask for a timber licence actually but a logging licence to clear the trees to plant rubber….we want to assure the 26 villages that they can sleep soundly,”
The mountain terrain registers at approximately 201m above sea level and is said to be known not only for its fruit trees including durians, but also a water catchment area particularly for the villages of Tarat, Kakeng, Jenan, Bantang, Lanchang, Taee, Baru and Bunga. It is also home to a rich biodiversity with several protected species such as peacocks, hornbills and barking deers.
