NEWEST UPDATE ON NUMPANG SUNTAI'S AND SEBANGAN NATIVES' STRUGGLE TO PROTECT OUR NATIVE CUSTOMARY RIGHTS LANDS AND SEBANGAN RAINFOREST.

Sebangan is located in the State of Sarawak, Malaysia.

Numpang Suntai and 14 others, representing 276 Iban families from the 15 longhouse communities of Kampung Entanggor, Ensika, Lumut, Arus Dayak, Tongkah Dayak, Tongkah Dayak Lubuk Manta, Tongkah Dayak Atas, Tongkah Dayak Rumah Panjai, Lunying, Belimbing Besi, Ketimbong and Bajong Ili, Bajong Ili Atas, Bajong Ili Tengah, Bajong Ili Baruh, all situated at Sebangan, Simunjan, Sarawak, filed their civil suit at the Kuching High Court on November 1st, 2010.

This case was heard at Kuching High Court on August 8th though August 19th 2011. This civil court proceeding is far from over. It is to continue on November 8th through 11th, 2011 and will reconvene again on December 19 through December 23rd, 2011.

Named as defendants in the civil suit are Quality Concrete Sdn Bhd the timber concession holder, Loyal Billion Sdn Bhd the logging contractor, 2 government appointed community leaders Penghulu Merum anak Babu and Ketua Kampung Agu anak Kaleng, together with the Director of Foresty and the Sarawak State Government.

The Sebuyau and Sebangan Ibans still need your moral and financial support to fight against illegal loggers. Your contributions will pay for the legal expenses and the cost of transportation, lodging, and food for Sebangan villagers who will be attending the proceedings in Kuching.

We desperately need your support to save our NCR heritages and our prestine environment from further destruction. If we lost this case, we will lost our land and forest to timber tycoons and oil palm plantation owners. Losing this case is losing our life line, our means of survival. Without our land and forests, we the Dayaks, the natives of Borneo, we have nothing.

In the USA please e-mail christinasuntai@gmail.com for postal address and other information. Or you can use Pay Pal by clicking Donate and you can use any credit cards to donate on-line. Thank you for you donations and support.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

High Court adjourns appeal hearing
by Anasathia Jenis reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on May 25, 2011, Wednesday
Counsel YB See Chee How, Numpang and our 90 year old father, Suntai Bichu

KUCHING: The High Court here yesterday adjourned an appeal hearing against the discharge and acquittal of a self-declared native customary rights (NCR) land defender from criminal intimidation.
Numpang Suntai, appeared before Judicial Commissioner Ravinthran N Paramaguru who re-fixed the hearing for July 18.
The court was informed by the prosecution that the grounds of appeal were not ready for submission into court.
Numpang has been charged for allegedly intimidating timber camp workers at 2.45pm on Oct 18 last year in the Sebangan-Sebuyau area.
He subsequently appeared before a Simunjan magistrates’ court last December.
Numpang was discharged and acquitted from the offence last March as the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him.
Criminal intimidation comes under Section 503 of the Penal Code, which provides a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment or a fine or both.
Numpang was among seven people, including the village headman, arrested to assist a police probe into cases involving alleged arson and criminal damage to property.
The villagers claimed that the company had encroached on their NCR land for logging.
Yesterday was the third time the hearing was postponed due to a technicality.
Counsel See Chee How said such delays were unfair to the respondent because it cost time and money.
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