In a letter to Jewson Ltd., the British lumber company, 17 headmen and leaders of the Penan people of Sarawak / Malaysia have asked it to stop purchasing timber from their territories. "We would like to draw your attention to the fact that by purchasing timber from the Samling group you are making yourself part of the crimes committed against our communities", the Penan have written to Jewson?s managing director Peter Hindle in the letter published today. "Despite our repeated protests, Samling does not respect our boundaries and disregards our native customary rights. This is why we filed a court case against Samling in 1998 that is still pending." The Penan, who used to live as nomadic forest-dwellers in the jungles of Borneo, have been known for defying the logging companies for many years. While most of the Penan have become settled in the past decades, they still depend on the forest resources for their livelihood. "Without our forest, we, the Penan, cannot survive. We are dependent on the clean water from our rivers, the wild boar we hunt in the forest, the fruits and jungle products we collect from the old trees, the sago palms and the rattan vines." The Penan report that Jewson?s Malaysian timber supplier, the Miri-based Samling group, is currently logging in the upper reaches of the Sela?an river, causing heavy pollution to the river, one of the Penan?s fishing grounds. For more than a year, the Penan have been protesting against the unjustified certification of Samling by the Malaysian timber certification council MTCC. Jewson was the first overseas company to buy timber from the MTCC-certified concession on Penan land. The company, which is a subsidiary of the French Saint Gobain group, prides itself as being "the UK's leading supplier of building materials". However, it seems there is still much to be done before it could call itself a leader in respecting environmental concerns and the rights of indigenous people.
