State, Communities and Forests in Contemporary Borneo

I want to share this academic work, State, Communities and Forests in Contemporary Borneo with anyone who is interested in the environmental challenges and the displacement of native communities in Borneo, which encompasses the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and Indonesian Kalimantan. The kingdom of Brunei does not form part of this study. Published by the Australian National University, the ANU has been generous in sharing this outstanding piece online. The contributors are outstanding academics and they address social, economic, environmental, legal and political issues affecting deforestation and displacement of native communities in Borneo.

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If you are only interested in Sarawak, go to Fadzilah Majid Cooke, Ramy Bulan and Mogens Pedersen et al.

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If you are only interested in Sabah, go to Justine Vaz.

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To be honest, I haven't finished reading this compendious work. It is just a breathtaking albeit academic study. But the issues are serious and, think about it, every single day native communities in Borneo are witnessing the destruction of their ancestral and customary lands. And, the shame of it all is that these communities do not receive adequate compensation for being displaced.

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This is the point that I have repeatedly raised in various blog entries, particularly the piece entitled Sarawak NCR Land: The heavy price of progress and, generally under the label NCR.

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I must confess that I'm not a native nor am I a Sarawakian or Sabahan. But I'm Malaysian and, I hate to see what's been happening. In West Malaysia the decimation of Orang Asli communities is still continuing although greater sensitisation is slowly creeping in...very slowly.

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My innate sense of fairplay demands that I write and speak out about the plight of the native communities of Malaysia. If I can help to articulate their plight and help to frame the discourse on the rights of native communities and the concomitant impact that their displacement causes on the environment, then I am grateful that my education and writing skills are not wasted.

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Do ignore any hint of sanctimoniousness, if any, on my part. Do take the trouble to read the resources to get a better understanding of the issues affecting the native communities of Borneo and the environmental issues arising from their displacement. Progress should not come at any price. Progress must be a considered activity especially if it affects human beings.