News from the progressive side of Malaysia
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Indigenous land rights and forests in Borneo
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Last post 18 days ago. Imported yesterday. 37 held
001
The Borneo ProjectEN
In the Upper Baram region of Sarawak, Malaysia, a large-scale logging operation continues despite widespread complaints from Indigenous communities. Meanwhile, the timber company abandons a 30-door longhouse construction project that was promised as compensation.
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002
The Borneo ProjectEN
MIRI, SARAWAK: On 10th October, nearly 300 Indigenous Peoples from Miri, Marudi, Baram, Niah, Belaga, Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching participated in the Sarawak Indigenous Solidarity March, which began at Miri City Fan and ended in front of Miri Court House.
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003
The Borneo ProjectEN
In May of last year, when we helped residents of Long Urun file a complaint with Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO), the community had already been watching its forests cleared for palm oil production for more than a year.
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004
The Borneo ProjectEN
Community camera-trap confirms forest slated for Rich Venture’s 44,545-hectare bamboo project is a biodiversity hotspot; satellite imagery shows old logging roads reopened BELAGA, SARAWAK: Indigenous communities living beside the Bakun reservoir have documented a sun bear mother…
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005
The Borneo ProjectEN
The Borneo Project’s Jessica Merriman appeared on Consider This from Malaysian news outlet Astro Awani to discuss the Bruno Manser Fonds’ recent report, Plundering the Baram Peace Park.
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006
The Borneo ProjectEN
Originally published in Malaysiakini. It takes five and a half hours by boat across the Bakun reservoir to reach Long Jawe, a remote Indigenous village on the reservoir’s furthest inlet. When we arrived, our boat driver’s dogs came down to meet him.
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007
The Borneo ProjectEN
What if a conservation project becomes a logging project? For decades, Indigenous communities in the Upper Baram region of Malaysian Borneo have been fighting deforestation. Through sustained efforts, they have successfully protected large areas of forest.
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008
The Borneo ProjectEN
by Peter Kallang The future of Upper Baram is no longer an abstract debate about development versus conservation. It is a real and ongoing conflict involving Indigenous communities, logging interests, and government authorities responsible for managing Sarawak’s forests.
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009
The Borneo ProjectEN
Obituary written by Rhett Ayers Butler, originally posted on butlernature.com In the early 1990s, the logging roads running through Sarawak’s Upper Baram became the site of a bitter confrontation.
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010
The Borneo ProjectEN
BARAM: More than 100 representatives from 40 Penan communities have unanimously rejected a proposal to construct hydroelectric dams along the Tutoh River in Baram, describing the project as a serious threat to their customary lands, livelihoods, and the future of the Penan…
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011
The Borneo ProjectEN
For generations, Indigenous communities across Sarawak have governed and cared for vast stretches of forest, not as “protected areas” on paper, but as living territories that sustain their cultures, livelihoods, and identities. These communal forests are not empty wilderness.
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012
The Borneo ProjectEN
Dear friends, On the southern slope of Mount Murud Kecil, a logging road is creeping into clouded leopard habitat and forests rich with Rhizanthes lowii: one of the rarest flowering plants on earth.
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013
The Borneo ProjectEN
A letter from 22 Penan communities in the Magoh and Limbang region is calling for a non-renewal of forest certification and support of their conservation efforts in the area.
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014
The Borneo ProjectEN
What: Rapid expansion of native forest logging by Borneoland Timber Resources, moving toward the territory of Long Semiyang — an Indigenous Kenyah village on the Baram River in Sarawak. Where: Long Semiyang is located in the Upper Baram region of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.
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015
The Borneo ProjectEN
Upper Baram, Sarawak — Penan and Kenyah communities in the Upper Baram region of Sarawak, Malaysia have issued a strong and unified statement opposing any logging activities in their ancestral lands.
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016
The Borneo ProjectEN
Upper Baram, Sarawak — Penan and Kenyah communities in the Upper Baram region of Sarawak, Malaysia have issued a strong and unified statement opposing any logging activities in their ancestral lands.
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017
The Borneo ProjectEN
Indigenous communities in Tatau, Sarawak are calling on global palm oil buyers to investigate a plantation, where they say the company has cleared their customary forests without consent and is now threatening the river system they depend on.
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018
The Borneo ProjectEN
Deforestation in Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia © Albert Bansa / Friends of the Earth A new report by Friends of the Earth UK, RimbaWatch, and Earthsight confirms what we and our partners have been documenting for years: timber certification in Malaysia is failing to protect…
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019
The Borneo ProjectEN
(MIRI, March 24, 2026) – Residents of Sawa Ali are calling for urgent action to stop logging activities by Borneoland Timber Resources (BTR) in Block 24, a community forest reserve that serves as their primary source of livelihood.
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020
The Borneo ProjectEN
By Peter Kallang, Founder of SAVE Rivers This month marks ten years since the Sarawak government formally shelved plans for the Baram Dam, a massive hydropower project that would have flooded 412 square kilometres of native customary lands and displaced some 20,000 people from…
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021
The Borneo ProjectEN
As the Sarawak government moves forward with requests for proposals (RFPs) for a new series of cascading hydropower dams across five major river systems, Indigenous leaders and civil society organisations are calling for full participation in decisions that could reshape…
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022
The Borneo ProjectEN
Miri, Sarawak — Indigenous community representatives in Sarawak have expressed concern regarding the confiscation of timber harvested for the construction of a family home, while destructive large-scale logging activities continue to be permitted.
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023
The Borneo ProjectEN
Community leaders in Belaga are calling for a formal revenue-sharing mechanism that would ensure Indigenous communities directly benefit from the electricity generated by the Bakun Hydropower Project.
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024
The Borneo ProjectEN
UPOV, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, is a global system of plant breeders’ rights. It gives legal monopoly rights to companies or institutions that develop “new” plant varieties.
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025
The Borneo ProjectEN
Penan Community of Sawa Ali Forces Temporary Stop to Borneoland Timber Resources’ Logging Activities Miri, Sarawak — Logging operations by Borneoland Timber Resources (“Borneoland”) in the highly contested Upper Baram region have been temporarily halted.
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026
The Borneo ProjectEN
(Miri, Sarawak — December 18, 2025) Eleven Penan residents representing communities in Ulu Baram are weighing an appeal to the Malaysian Court of Appeal after the Miri High Court dismissed their challenge to logging licences issued by the Sarawak Forest Director and approved by…
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027
The Borneo ProjectEN
It’s been a year of wins for The Borneo Project and our partners! From stopping destructive plantation expansion to securing the withdrawal of a major logging company from community forests, we’ve been pushing alongside Indigenous communities to defend the future of Borneo’s…
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028
The Borneo ProjectEN
What: Malaysia has confirmed that palm oil companies operating on disputed or illegally occupied native customary rights (NCR) land can now have their Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification suspended or revoked.
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029
The Borneo ProjectEN
MIRI: A group that represents the majority of Long Semiyang has taken a decisive stand today by lodging a police report at the Miri Central Police Station against Borneoland Timber Resources Sdn Bhd, condemning the company’s logging activities in their Native Customary Rights…
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030
The Borneo ProjectEN
KUCHING, 26th November: A delegation of Sarawak Indigenous Peoples under Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) organised a march on Monday to handover the Sarawak Native Rights Memorandum 2025 to Tan Sri Datuk Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, the Speaker of the State Legislative…
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031
The Borneo ProjectEN
While the Sarawak government pushes AI and “digital transformation,” rural communities still have to fight for basic infrastructure like electricity. Photo courtesy of TONIBUNG.
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032
The Borneo ProjectEN
Dear Friends, As 2025 comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about what it means to do this work in a place where the challenges never seem to end. Plantations continue to expand, logging companies push deeper into forests, and communities face immense pressure on their lands and…
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033
The Borneo ProjectEN
Global alliance urges Dutch Government to reconsider endorsement of controversial timber certification scheme KUALA LUMPUR, 18 November 2025 – A coalition of Malaysian and international NGOs has released a memorandum in response to the recent TPAC report on the Malaysian Timber…
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034
The Borneo ProjectEN
(Miri, Sarawak — November 13, 2025) The repeated postponement of the court ruling on logging activities in the Data Bila area continues to generate dissatisfaction among local villagers and plaintiffs, who have been awaiting resolution of their customary land claims and…
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035
The Borneo ProjectEN
Director of Forests cancels Osaka Metropolitan University talk to avoid answering questions over deforestation — as Sarawak Premier receives Japan’s top honour for “environmental leadership” Osaka, Japan – 12 November 2025 — At a press conference in Osaka today, Indigenous…
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036
The Borneo ProjectEN
Kuala Lumpur / Tokyo — A coalition of civil society organizations has called on the Government of Japan to immediately suspend funding for International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) projects in Sarawak, Malaysia, following serious human rights concerns, allegations of…
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037
The Borneo ProjectEN
BELAGA, Sarawak — Indigenous communities in Sarawak have won a major victory in their campaign to stop deforestation on their native lands. After clearing over 1,000 hectares of natural forest for oil palm in the last year, Urun Plantations Sdn Bhd has committed to a moratorium…
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