By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 12: Senator Abun Sui Anyit has called for the Sarawak government to gazette the land in the Penan Lusong Laku village under the appropriate section in the Sarawak Land Code to preserve villagers’ rights.
Abun, in a statement today, said during a programme conducted at Lusong Laku on Oct 3 and 4, they were informed by the locals who requested for their rights on their land to be protected.
“Usually, land in a community or a longhouse is not owned by any outsiders. But it is a different story here where the native customary land in the area or around the village is purchased and owned by outsiders.
“Therefore, the Sarawak government, which has jurisdiction over land matters, is urged to do something to ensure the Penan in Lusong Laku do not lose their land and end up being squatters in their own village,” he said.
He said that gazetting the land will help to preserve the rights of Penan Lusong Laku while safeguarding the interests of those who have bought the land.
“The Federal government through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) can also promote Pejik Waterfall (O’ong Pejik) as a tourist destination by involving the Penan community so that they can benefit from the overflow of the tourism sector,” he opined. — DayakDaily
