By Joseph Tawie
Sarawak state minister Michael Manyin has angered
Bidayuh voters in Tebedu area.
SERIAN: Angry villagers from
Kampung Temung and Kampung Tepoi are demanding that state Infranstructure
Development and Communication Minister, Michael Manyin, apologise for
tarnishing the community’s reputation.
A spokesman
for both villages, Papai Angin said if Manying does not apologise for
slandering them, then the community would seek legal redress.
“We now
demand that Michael Manyin immediately apologise to the Bidayuh community in
Kampung Temung and Kampung Tepoi failing which we will seriously consider
taking legal action against him as he has slandered us and caused our name and
reputation to be tranished.
“On the
Sept 27, 2011 as reported in the papers, the minister accused us, the villagers
of Kampung Temung and Kampung Tepoi of being anti-development.
“He also
implied that, as a result of our supposedly anti-development stance, other
villages in Tebedu district are now unfairly deprived of access to
treated, pipe-in water,” he said.
According
to media reports, Manyin had made a reference to an instance where villagers
from the two areas had stopped surveyors from the Land and Survey Department
from carrying out surveying works on a piece of kampung land where a water
booster pump was supposed to be sited.
Malicious statement
Manyin had
described the villagers as ‘anti-development’.
“We are
extremely unhappy with this statement from the minister, in which he
painted us as a group of people who resist development mindlessly and in the
process, deprived not just people in our own villages but also folks of the
other villagers of the much needed treated pipe-in water.
“Manyin’s
statement is malicious and in bad faith, crafted to make himself look like a
victim of irrational behaviour and selfish attitude on our part.
“His
statement was carried in the daily papers which have very substantial
circulations in the state.
“Our names
and reputation have been unjustly maligned, not just in Tebedu but through out
Malaysia,” Papai said.
He also
pointed out that it was unbecoming of a Bidayuh minister to run down his own
community.
“We find it
most unbecoming of Manyin, who is not just a state minister but an acknowledged
leader of stature among the Bidayuhs, to run down the very own community that
he was given the responsibility to protect and to nuture.
“We want to
clearly state here that it has never been our intention to knowingly deprive
any party of much needed development projects by resisting such projects
without just cause.
“As we all
know, the villagers were and still are embroiled in bitter disputes with a timber
company that was given the rights to log, not only the virgin forest near our
villages but also the land in which we claimed native customary rights.
“The case
is pending resolution in the court,” Papai added.
Unresolved dispute over land
He said that
the villagers have been told that the timber company concerned is partly owned
by a state-run foundation.
“As a
full-fledged minister, Manyin has the full knowledge of the disputes as he was
one of several parties from whom we sought help and assitance in the matter but
he did not make any serious attempts to address our grievances.
“The police
are also fully aware of the situation as police reports were made, not only by
the villagers but also by other parties involved in the disputes.
“We the
villagers of Kampung Temung and Kampung Tepoi consider the dispute as
unresolved and because of that we will not permit any kind of land-based
activity to take place in our villagers without our consent and agreement until
our grievances is resolved to our full satisfaction,” he said.
The
statement was issued after the villagers met members and leaders of PKR
who have actively assisted them in their efforts to reclaim their rights over
the disputed land.
Stop blaming opposition
Meanwhile,
Sarawak PKR health bureau director, Dr Christopher Kiyui said there was no need
for the water project as the people were already enjoying clean water supply
from the gravity feed system.
He said
that when the logging activity took place, the water was dirty.
But after
the activity stopped, the water from the catchment area was clean again.
Another
opposition leader, Edward A Luak, chided Manyin for accusing the DAP of
instigating the villagers.
“He is
pulling the wool over eyes of the people, but the people are no longer fools,”
he said.
Luak said
Manyin had no right to associate the opposition with anti-development.
“In fact,
the opposition’s ideology is not to influence the people to go against
development.
“We in the
opposition actually would ask the people to demand for development to be
implemented in their area.
“After all,
the funds for the project come from the tax-payers’ money,” said Luak who heads
the Serian DAP branch.
On Sept 27,
Manyin said that the RM90 million meant for the treated water supply to
the various villages in the constituency was put on hold due to the
anti-development atttitude of the people of the two villages.
He accused
them of being influenced by the opposition’s ideology.
Source : FMT
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