MIRI – A social activist friend of mine says he is worried that there could be hundreds of Penans in the upper reaches of Baram district who may be infected with the dreaded Covid-19 in the weeks to come.
The coronavirus is sweeping through the northern Sarawak countryside populated by the native community, among the original inhabitants of Sarawak.
It is very sad and tragic that the Penans are facing this deadly crisis through no fault of their own.
These peaceful Penans do not indulge in alcohol-consumption, nor do they carry out cock-fighting, gambling, or smoking endlessly, like many other natives in numerous other ethnic groups in this state.
All these Penans want is to be left alone in their jungles – but sadly they are being forced into the open through decades of clearing of forests for logging and oil-palm projects.
Since last month, the Covid-19 has swept through numerous populated Penan settlements in the districts of Telang Usan, Mulu, Marudi and Bario.
Peaceful lives disrupted
How exactly they got infected at such an alarming rate is still being probed by the health authorities.
There were claims of possible transmission by Penans working in Miri who got infected in the city and then brought the coronavirus back into their settlements.
I heard another theory that these Penans in the interior got infected by outsiders who went into the Penan settlements to carry out political campaigns for the coming 12th Sarawak state elections.
What is clear is that the Penans are vulnerable people.
For decades, they suffered from logging intrusions into their jungles, causing them to be exposed to disease.
About 20 years ago, during the construction of the RM9 billion Bakun dam project in Belaga district in central Sarawak, some 13 Penan children died during a measles outbreak.
The measles was brought in by the influx of workers into the area.
Now, the Penans are facing an even more deadly threat from this Covid-19.
The state politicians and government health teams carrying out Covid-19 swabs and vaccination must not be hasty or use force on the Penans to vaccinate them.
Society for Rights of Indigenous People of Sarawak (Scrips) is of the view that gentle persuasion must be used when dealing with members of the Penans minority ethnic group.
Its secretary-general Michael Jok told The Vibes that many Penans are suspicious of the state authorities.
“After decades of losing their jungles to logging, these Penans mostly do not trust the government authorities,” he said.
If there is any attempt by politicians or government agencies to force them to be swabbed and vaccinated, these Penans will simply run into the deep jungles and hide. They have many secluded hiding places that even the politicians do not know about.
The dangerous Covid-19 has spread to major Penan settlements of Long Win, Long Lamai, Long Luteng, Long Latie, Long Kevok, Long Imam, and in the Mulu National Park in interior northern Sarawak, with more than a hundred positive cases already detected among the Penans there.
Health teams from Miri have flown in to contain the spread of the coronavirus in these places and in the world-famous national park which is home to the largest caves in the world.
Overcoming logistical woes in giving treatment
Mulu state assemblyman Datuk Gerawat Gala has initiated an immediate response to contain the spread of the coronavirus in his vast constituency.
“We are setting up an isolation, quarantine, and treatment facility inside the park immediately to bring those infected to the place to prevent further community spread,” said Gala who is also the state assembly’s deputy speaker.
He said the health team is already in the process of isolating the infected folks and giving them swift treatment.
We must set up in-situ treatment in Mulu as we cannot bring them to Miri Hospital due to the logistical woes.
Gala said the in-situ treatment method worked very well in helping the Penans in Long Lamai where a Covid-19 outbreak took place.
“In Long Lamai, the in-situ isolation, quarantine and treatment centre managed to help 22 Penans to recover from Covid-19.
“The health team did very well since they arrived in Long Lamai,” he said.
Gala said he and the health teams are trying to vaccinate as many of his constituents as possible.
Meanwhile, the “walk-in, jab and register” method is being done now at the Mulu Clinic, he said.
Gala is also visiting his constituents to encourage all of them to be vaccinated as soon as possible whenever the vaccines are flown in from Miri.
Interior natives oblivious of severity
Mulu is located about 200 kms inland from Miri.
Jok said many ethnic natives living in the deep forests are still not aware of the severity of Covid-19 and how deadly it is.
He called on the state authorities to use the local radio channels to dispense information about Covid-19 in Penan, Iban, Kayan, Kenyah and other ethnic languages used by the 40 plus indigenous groups in Sarawak.
I have travelled into the Penan territories in Baram and Belaga before, all the way to the Penan localities of Lusong Laku and Long Kajang near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
The last time I visited the Penans was in Long Lamam in the middle parts of Mulu, in early last year before the Covid-19 got serious in Sarawak.
I found the Penans to be a simple, kind, gentle, and peaceful people who do not indulge in vices.
They just want to be left alone.
Sadly, their lives are being turned upside down now due to Covid-19, and through no fault of their own.
I hope the elected politicians and the health teams will successfully reach out to all the 15,000 or so Penans who are left in Sarawak and vaccinate them fast.
It is a pity these Penans are suffering an even more deadly health crisis now, and it’s not even their fault. – The Vibes, July 4, 2021
Stephen Then is a reporter at The Vibes. He is based in Miri
