KUCHING: Indigenous communities residing around Sarawak’s Bakun Dam have filed a police complaint alleging unauthorised appropriation of their ancestral lands for commercial logging operations.
Representatives from seven longhouse communities submitted the formal complaint at Sungai Asap police station, protesting the issuance of a logging permit covering 44,545 hectares of forest surrounding the dam reservoir in Belaga district.
The affected communities—comprising Orang Ulu and Penan ethnic groups—reside in longhouses known as Uma Belor, Uma Lahanan, Uma Kelep, Uma Penan Talun, Uma Balui Liko, Uma Juman, and Uma Daro.
Dennis Bilang, a community elder serving as secretary of the village development committee, acted as spokesperson for the complainants.
“The Sarawak Forest Department authorised timber extraction across 44,545 hectares without consulting affected native populations,” Bilang stated.
“No social or environmental impact studies were conducted before approving this license.”
According to the communities, logging operations have already commenced, with plans for bamboo cultivation following forest clearance.
“The Bakun ecosystem remains vulnerable following the reservoir’s creation,” Bilang explained.
“Additional large-scale deforestation threatens our remaining forest heritage.”
The communities have appealed to law enforcement and state authorities to halt what they describe as environmental destruction of their traditional territories.
Located in Belaga district, Bakun Dam represents the largest among Sarawak’s five major hydroelectric projects.
The others include Batang Ai Dam in Sri Aman district, Bengoh Dam in Serian district, plus Murum and Baleh dams in Kapit district.
The Bakun project, completed in the late 1990s, submerged approximately 65,000 hectares and necessitated the relocation of around 15,000 indigenous residents.
