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THE native Penans living in the remote parts of northernmost Limbang Division near Sarawak's highest mountain of Mount Murud are getting worried over forest land clearing activities at the foot of the 8,000 foot-high mountain.
Penan chief Komeok Joe has expressed concern that these activities are possibly linked to logging operations.
"Mount Murud is the last of the primary forests in Sarawak.
"It is an area listed as an ecological heritage. Why are large scale forest clearings allowed there?
"We can see huge trees that have already been chopped down and workers quarters built on the cleared land.
"The Sarawak state government must explain what is happening in the Mount Murud area," he said.
Komeok took pictures and videos of the cleared forests as evidence that such activities are taking place.
Limbang Division is the northernmost division of Sarawak.
It is located adjacent to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
Mount Murud is linked to the world heritage site Mulu National Park which is located in the Baram Division.
The Penans are among the smallest of ethnic groups in Sarawak, with only about 10,000 of them left in this state.
Many of them are still living in the upper Baram and Limbang forests which have been their ancestral home for centuries. – July 12, 2024.