KOTA KINABALU – Around 30 residents staying inside the former Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) estate in Sipitang staged a peaceful demonstration near the state assembly, here, while the legislature was in session.
A spokesman for the group, Jeffridin Baudi, a former SFI worker, said the reason they gathered was to hand over a petition to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor over the issues faced by all the former pulp and paper mill workers.
He said they had gone without water and electricity since May 2 while staying in the workers’ quarters of the now defunct SFI estate.
“There are currently 674 heads of households still staying in the estate. A nearby primary school was also affected by this.
“Without electricity, we automatically are without any water as there is no power to keep the pump running from the estate’s in-house water treatment plant,” he told reporters during the sit-in protest here today.
The group was not allowed to enter the state assembly.
Police blocked entry to the assembly building near the state administrative building.
The SFI mill ceased operations in 2017 and was subsequently ordered by the high court to wind-up on November 15, 2021.
The Sabah Land and Survey Department issued a reclamation notice for the 46.033ha estate, which includes the SFI workers’ quarters, on September 5 last year.
A consortium has been assigned to take over the estate by the state government, but the former workers continue to occupy the estate claiming among others, unpaid salaries. – The Vibes, August 10, 2023
