THE authorities in Sabah have denied setting fire at the homes of sea nomads or the Bajau Laut in Semporna during an eviction exercise recently.
A video of the incident went viral on social media earlier this week.
A statement from the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry today cited police personnel present at the time of incident seeing some of the homeowners burning their own houses during the operation.
It noted that it was done to gain attention and sympathy among social media users.
“The operation was carried out due to security issues at the district level, following shooting incidents in Darvel Bay and cross-border criminal activities in the unauthorized settlement locations.
“The sovereignty of the nation's laws in force in this issue must be upheld,” it said in a statement in Kota Kinabalu today.
The incident had gained international news media attention. The Bajau Laut communities or Palauh are known to be nomads and live most of their lives at sea.
The ministry stated that the eviction had been done lawfully, indicating the location had been within the Tun Sakaran Marine Park in Semporna,
“From the perspective of compliance with the Parks Enactment 1984, the marine park is one of the areas proclaimed as a Park area or a State Park,” it said.
Fishing, erecting structures without permission and farming are prohibited under the state law.
The ministry also stated a total of 273 evacuation notices were distributed from May 2 to 4, 2024, with the demolition and evacuation of unauthorized settlements started from June 4 to 6, 2024, with 138 unauthorized settlements demolished in the hot zone.
Meanwhile, other houses were demolished by the owners themselves, and some owners left their homes as is, it stated. – The Vibes, June 7, 2024
