Penan wars trilogy: Crimes in the jungle

(Malaysiakini) I reproduce below the police reports written by the Penans themselves, so that they may now have a face. The Penans are not just faceless and voiceless characters. Now they have a personality, just like you and I.

I recommend that you read the reports carefully for the Penans are great storytellers, having in their heritage a fine oral tradition. They are painstaking when it comes to details and they are eloquent in the emotive retelling of their experiences.

Until today, it is worthy to note that no one has been arrested or interrogated in relation to the reports. The excuse is that the police cannot prosecute the perpetrators of the crimes because they could not be identified.

In the end, the police reports and statutory declarations quoted here remain the only indictment of the crimes committed in the jungle.

Raped at 12

This testimony comes in the form of a signed, statutory declaration. Because the victim was a minor when the rape took place, she will simply be called 'M'.

Her father, Buet Kayan of Long Ajeng, Ulu Baram, a Malaysian citizen of about 40 years of age born in the vicinity without birth certificate, made the following statutory declaration at Miri, Sarawak in March 1995:

“Sometime in early November 1993, my wife Leren Bajau and I returned to our dwelling in Long Kerong after having gone to the forest to gather sago. We found that our daughter M, together with some other people from Long Kerong, had returned from Long Ajeng a few days earlier.

“M had gone to Long Ajeng at about the end of October 1993 to fetch rice for the family. She had travelled on foot to Long Ajeng together with Gembala (pastor) John and his wife, both of Long Kerong, and another girl named Martha (also known as Merita) from Long Ajeng.

“M is my third child and was born in April 1981. She is generally reserved and quiet. She has a lisp in her speech and does not speak much. My wife and I have 10 children still living, including M.

“About two or three days after we returned from the forest, M told my wife and I that she had been raped in Long Mobui while en route to Long Ajeng from Long Kerong. She was sad and depressed and cried while relating her experience. She had been afraid to tell us what had happened to her for fear that my wife and I would be angry.

“M said that she had been raped at night by two men in the house of Datu Abeng, the son of the ketua kampung of Long Mobui. She said one of the rapists was of big build and had a big stomach. She said that she had struggled, screamed and cried while she was being raped but nobody came to help her. She said she had not told anyone about the rape.

“My wife and I were shocked. We consoled her and told her we were grateful she had not been injured or killed by the rapists...” read the declaration.

“My wife and I did not tell anybody about the rape until August 1994. We did not know what to do about the matter, or to whom we should report. We finally told Balang Tui (of Long Ajeng) when we heard that some Penan leaders were going to Kuching to make a police report on problems faced by our community. A police report was made on Sept 30, 1994 at the Kuching Central Police Station.

“On March 22, 1995, M made a police report, Miri Central Police Station and gave a statement to the police in Miri regarding her rape in Long Mobui. I also gave a statement to the police,” it concluded.

Nobody has ever been arrested in connection with M's case. At the time of writing, M has remained single and she is now 29-years-old, living with her kin somewhere near her village in Ulu Baram.

4-year-old killed by tear-gas

Bulan Yoh of Long Mobui, Baram made the following statutory declaration regarding the death of her 4-year-old son Sonny Laot:

“...We are currently living in Long Kerong, Baram. We have six children now living. Five of my children have died, including Sonny Laot who was my youngest child. Sonny was 4 years old when he died on Oct 6 1993.

“Sonny was hospitalised in Marudi hospital for about a month in August/September 1993. He was operated on for a swelling on his neck below his left ear. He recovered fully and my husband and I took him back to the Sebatu blockade site. There he actively played with the other children and was eating normally and in general good health.

“On the second day of our arrival at Sebatu, the tear-gassing and dismantling of the blockade took place. At about 10am that day, a large number of Police Field Force (PFF) personnel and other police personnel wearing red helmets with visors and carrying shields, whom I believe to be from the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU), were seen advancing towards the blockade.

“They were accompanying some officers from the Forest Department and some workers from the logging company that operates in the area. I believe there were more than 300 police personnel present.

“Some men at the blockade went some distance down the road with the intention of negotiating with the police. But they were immediately arrested upon coming into contact with the Police.

“The PFF personnel continued their advance and the large group of men who had followed close behind their representatives retreated towards the blockade. When the PFF were about 100 metres from the blockade, they started arresting people in the group.

“My husband was among this group of men. I saw him being arrested. His arms were forcibly held behind his back by four PFF personnel. I heard him shouting as if he was in pain. I ran towards my husband to help him.

“At that moment the PFF started throwing tear-gas canisters at the group without any warning and without any provocation from the group. At the same time those PFF personnel that were armed with M-16 rifles surrounded the area around the blockade.

“I was afraid for my children whom I had left in our lamin (an open-walled temporary hut, raised about six feet above the ground) located about 100 metres from the blockade. In our lamin were Sonny (4 years old), Rose (7-8 years) and Stella (6-7 years). My grandchild Joit Abut (5-6 years) was also in the hut.

“As I made my way towards our lamin, I saw the PFF throw tear-gas canisters towards the lamins of the people. Some of them landed near our lamin. The gas drifted towards the lamin and enveloped the area. People ran away from the gas. As I tried to get back to our lamin the PFF tried to prevent me and the other people from getting to the lamin. It took me a long time to reach our lamin.

“When I finally arrived at our lamin, there was tear-gas all around and inside. I was choking from the gas. I rushed inside and found only Sonny there. He was crying, coughing and vomiting from the effects of the tear gas.

“I took him out of the lamin and went into the nearby forest, to get away from the gas. Sonny was vomiting badly. I tried giving him some water but he drank only a little.

“That night, I sheltered with Sonny and the rest of the family in a lamin in the forest. Sonny was constantly coughing and vomiting and could hardly eat or drink.

The next day we set off on foot for Long Kerong with the other families from the blockade as we were extremely fearful of the police. On the journey Sonny's condition deteriorated. We only had some Panadol for medication.

“We travelled for five days in the forest and reached Long Sait where we stayed with some relatives. At Long Sait, Sonny's condition continued to worsen.

“He eventually died on the third day after we arrived in Long Sait, 6 Oct 1993. We buried Sonny in Long Sait.

Another tear gas tragedy

Another victim of the show of force at a Penan blockade was Geran Ten, who passed away on Sept 8, 1994 in Long Kerong.

The police report featured the interviews of his brother Gilin Ten, 65, and another farmer Geoffery Upai Lagui, 33 from Long Kerong.

Geran was born in Long Kerong, part of a family of four brothers and sisters. He was married with no children.

Before the blockade in Long Mobui, Geran had stayed in Long Ajeng for some time. His land is in Long Kerong.

It is suspected that tear-gas thrown by the PFF personnel while dismantling the blockade at Long Mobui was the main cause of his death.

Gilin says he was with Geran when the police charged at the Penan manning the blockade. Gilin was about 100 meters from the hut where Geran was resting. At that time, Geran was a little sick with fever but it was not serious, and he continued to participate in all the activities at the blockade site with the others.

Gilin says as the police started firing tear-gas at the people, he saw some being thrown underneath the hut where Geran was resting. He then saw his brother emerge, vomiting as he descended the staircase.

Gilin rushed to help his brother but was restrained by the police as he reached a worship hut half way to where Geran was. He could see Geran appearing weak and vomiting continuously.

In the pandemonium nobody was helping Geran. They were either prevented from reaching their huts, or running away from the smoke that was proving extremely irritating. When the smoke got thicker, he could not see Geran anymore. Irritated by the smoke, Gilin rushed to a stream nearby to wash his face.

When he returned about half an hour later, the police had left and it was raining very heavily. The huts were completely destroyed and he could not find Geran.

The people started returning to the site and about 30 temporary sheds were put up. It was getting dark and the rain was still very heavy. Geran returned at that time and he was coughing badly. Gilin boiled some water for Geran to drink, hoping that it would help stop his coughing but it did not.

Gungho police and indifferent doctors

The next morning, a helicopter flew over the blockade site and a group of armed soldiers came to the sheds. They searched to see if anything was being hidden. They did not destroy the sheds this time.

That evening, after the soldiers had left, people started leaving the site.

Gilin and Geran left together. After walking for only half a mile, Geran complained that he was too weak to walk. Gilin then erected a small shed and both of them stayed there for the night.

Geran was coughing badly and complained of stomach-ache. There was white stuff coming out from his mouth when he coughed. He began to have a lot of blisters on his lips and he could not eat. He felt weak and was visibly losing weight.

Because Geran was too weak to walk a long distance, Gilin had to erect a shed for him to rest and sleep after walking a short distance each day. They spent ten days in the jungle before they reached Long Kerong. Normally, it takes less than two days to walk the distance..

When they first arrived in Long Kerong, they stayed in a good friend, Bala Kadir's house. Geran's wife also arrived, following another group.

After staying with Bala for two weeks, Geran's health had deteriorated. He could not eat anything at all; when he did, he vomited. Panadol was the only medicine that the local villagers could get for him.

When the flying doctors came to Long Kerong, they refused to walk the short distance (about 40 meters away) to see him. Some villagers had tried to carry Geran to see the doctors but any small movement of his body caused him so much pain that they didn't persist.

Geoffery was away when Geran arrived in Long Kerong. When he returned, he immediately went to see him when the villagers told him that Geran was very sick.

He corroborated Gilin's account of his brother's condition. He helped administer some medicine for rehydration and for gastric that the flying doctors had prescribed.

He says during the time when Geran was in Long Kerong, the flying doctors visited the community three times. Geoffery tried to persuade the doctors to see Geran, explaining how moving him caused him great pain, but the doctors were not sympathetic. They just asked about his health condition and left some medicine.

Two days before he passed away, Geran was unconscious. The villagers helped to move him into Bala's house because a lot of the villagers came and wanted to pray for his recovery.

He passed away after midnight. Before he died, he told his brother to keep his parang and his gun, and not to throw them away.

Gilin is very sad because the government has done nothing to investigate the death of his brother. He is still angry with the flying doctors for refusing to attend to Geran, even though they were informed of his critical condition.