Hope and Struggle in the Rainforests of Sarawak

In the heart of Malaysian Borneo, the Indigenous people of Sarawak are fighting to protect what remains of their ancestral forests. These forests are not just trees – they are rivers, food, medicine, and the very spirit of community life.

A Way of Living with the Land

The Penan and Kenyah people of Sarawak live in a way that keeps the forest alive. They take only what they need and give back to the land that feeds them. Systems like Tagang – where hunting, fishing, and logging are carefully controlled – mean that rivers stay full of fish, animals survive, and future generations can still live from the land.

Their impact is so light that it cannot be seen, not even from the sky. In sharp contrast, the logging companies cut through the forest with roads and machines, leaving scars that can never heal.

The Threats They Face

Despite their care for the land, Indigenous families are being pushed aside. Logging companies, backed by government officials, profit from cutting down primary rainforest and selling it to the highest bidder. The result is devastating:

• Deforestation changes the climate, causes flooding, and strips the land bare.

• Palm oil plantations turn rich rainforest into a single crop “desert” where no animals or native plants can survive.

• Old colonial laws from the 1950s deny Indigenous rights, forcing them to prove with aerial photos that they farmed land before 1958.

These rules ignore the truth: that the Penan have always lived in harmony with the forest through hunting, gathering, and careful use of nature.

A Struggle for Justice

In Long Tepen, 200 Penan villagers have taken a brave stand against the logging giant Shin Yang. Promises were broken, compensation was denied, and forests were cut without consent. The Penan responded with a blockade, refusing to let the loggers pass.

Instead of listening, the authorities arrested them. But the Penan are not giving up. With the help of allies, they even wrote to the Prime Minister of Japan, asking him to stop buying Shin Yang’s timber. Their message is simple: “Our forests are not for sale.”

Why This Matters for Everyone

The struggle in Sarawak is not just a local issue. The rainforest is one of the lungs of our planet. It stores carbon, gives us clean air, and slows climate change. When it is destroyed, we all suffer.

The contrast could not be clearer: gentle and generous Indigenous communities, living in balance with nature, versus greedy companies and officials who profit from destruction.

The choice is ours. Will we stand with those protecting life, or turn away while the forests fall?

The people of Sarawak cannot do this alone. They need our voices. They need our solidarity. And they need justice.