THE last remaining virgin forests of northern Sarawak, home to thousands of Penan natives, are being destroyed at an alarming pace by logging giants, prompting human blockades by desperate forest communities, says native rights activist Willie Kajan.
“These logging activities are not only devastating the land but worsening climate change in Sarawak and Borneo. They’re also causing immense hardship to the Penan people who depend entirely on the forest for survival,” said Willie, a social activist and jungle guide who has travelled extensively through the region.
He squarely placed the blame on the state’s political leadership and licence-issuing authorities.
“The ruling politicians in power and those with the authority to issue logging licences in Sarawak must shoulder the blame for the hardship inflicted against the forest natives,” he said.
“These people are also responsible for the massive destruction of the last remaining primary forests in Sarawak and are contributing to the climate deterioration we are witnessing today.”
Willie criticised Sarawak leaders for what he described as hypocrisy.
“The state leaders go around claiming they are championing a green economy. The realities on the ground, hidden from the outside, show that Sarawak is not as green as they are claiming. The forests are being destroyed at worrying rates, including the ancestral forests of the Penan, one of the original peoples of Sarawak.”
On Thursday, it was reported that Penan communities had erected human blockades at several points along timber roads near Ba’Data Bila, Long Benali, and Ba’Pengiran Kelian to stop logging in what they claim are ancestral lands.
Four civil society organisations – The Borneo Project, Keruan, Save Sarawak Rivers, and the Bruno Manser Fund – released a joint statement through their lawyer Roland Engan, a land rights advocate based in Miri.
“Every day, dozens of timber trucks loaded with massive logs are seen leaving the Penan forests,” the statement said. “These operators have never received permission from the Penans to cut down the forests. The communities were not consulted, and their complaints have been blatantly ignored by the loggers and the authorities.”
According to the groups, at least 162 logging trucks were spotted in the Penan forests in April alone, with the estimated value of timber removed amounting to RM9 million per month.
The organisations are calling on the Sarawak government to intervene immediately.
“These Penans have set up human blockades in different locations as a desperate move to stop the logging operators from continuously chopping down their forests,” the statement read.
So far, there have been no physical confrontations. Protesters are reported to be peacefully blocking access roads used by timber workers and heavy machinery.
The affected area is in the Baram district, a remote part of northern Sarawak some 10 hours by rugged earth roads from Miri. - June 6, 2025
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