TAMBUNAN: The Kampung Monsok Tengah community has submitted a formal claim for compensation following severe river pollution that destroyed the local ecosystem and the tagal system zone in the area.
This decisive action comes after construction work on the Kampung Monsok Ulu bridge caused construction waste to spill into the main waterway due to negligence by the appointed contractor.
Kampung Monsok Tengah Tagal Committee Chairman Pius Kiob emphasised that the pollution triggered the deaths of thousands of river fish species, including the highly valuable pelian fish, which local villagers have reared and conserved for a long time.
Dead river fish due to cement runoff entering the river.The incident has deprived residents of a primary source of income derived from river yields as well as potential community tourism activities, he said.
He said the event is deeply disappointing for the local community, given that Kampung Monsok Tengah residents previously endured a difficult period of fish deaths caused by a disease outbreak.
He said residents who were severely affected by that disaster worked tirelessly to restore and protect the river ecosystem following last year’s fish disease. However, those ongoing restoration efforts were once again destroyed by another series of fish deaths – this time caused by contractor negligence.
Under local customary law (tagal custom), Pius said pollution affecting a tagal system zone – a protected area where indiscriminate fishing is banned to preserve river sustainability – does not merely destroy collective environmental conservation efforts.
It also breaches community regulations and results in substantial economic and financial losses.
Consequently, he said the tagal committee is demanding that the project’s main contractor hold an urgent face-to-face meeting to discuss fair compensation, covering customary fines (sogit) as well as environmental damage reparations.
They demand that this meeting take place directly at the construction site and the affected river to enable a comprehensive joint assessment of the losses by the contractor and the Kampung Monsok Tengah Tagal Committee members.
He said residents also demand that immediate environmental safety measures be implemented to ensure no further negligence or oversight occurs during the construction period.
Pius said the formal letter of claim has been delivered, with copies forwarded to the Tambunan District Office, the Tambunan Fisheries Department and the Environment Protection Department (JPAS) for further action.
He said the project management has been given 14 days from the date of receipt of the letter to provide a formal written response before subsequent customary legal action or civil proceedings are pursued by the local community.