29 October 2014 – for immediate release Money Logging: On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia by Lukas Straumann is available where books are sold from 3 November 2014 (Bergli Books; 320 pages; ISBN 978-3905252682; approximately EUR 24.70, USD 32.60, CAD 35.40, GBP 19.65, MYR 105). For international orders (free shipping):www.money-logging.org (KUCHING, MALAYSIA). Swiss author and human […]

This year’s Communication for Social Change Award from the University of Queensland recognises the work of Radio Free Sarawak. Radio Free Sarawak founder Clare Rewcastle and colleague Peter John Jaban spoke at the symposium yesterday.  Ms Rewcastle said Radio Free Sarawak gave a radio and internet voice to isolated rural indigenous communities affected by illegal logging and land grabs in

For Immediate Release Malaysia: End Political Case Against Anwar Sodomy Prosecution of Opposition Leader Violates Rights (New York, October 24, 2014) – Malaysian authorities should end their politically motivated prosecution of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Human Rights Watch said today. On October 28, 2014, the Federal Court – the country’s highest court – will hear Anwar’s appeal of his March conviction for

23 October 2014 – for immediate release While indigenous peoples are celebrating the one-year anniversary of their blockades against the proposed Baram Dam, the government is sending a troublemaker and the police to eliminate the resistance. (BARAM /SARAWAK / MALAYSIA) Today, the peaceful blockades against the proposed Baram Dam in Sarawak, Malaysia, are celebrating their

23 October 2014 Government and Companies Complicit in Violating Freedom of Assembly and Land Rights Kuala Lumpur – Malaysian and international human rights organizations have united to publicly condemn the actions taken by authorities and logging company representatives to intimidate Indigenous Peoples in Sarawak at the proposed site of the Baram Dam. On 21 October,

22/23 October 2014 (BASEL, SWITZERLAND / YOKOHAMA, JAPAN). On 3 November, a 300-page non-fiction paperback on Borneo logging will be launched on the occasion of the 50th session of the International Tropical Timber Council in Yokohama, Japan. The book, entitled Money Logging: On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia, reads like a thriller and is authored

BARAM: The Baram Dam blockade which was erected nearly a year ago by the indigenous communities who are against the proposed Baram Hydroelectric Power (HEP) Dam Project at KM15 Jalan Samling, Baram was dismantled by the police, Forestry Department officers and loggers this morning. However, the loggers access to the site was short-lived as the

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem again shocked the public when he announced on 9 October that ‘there would be no more issuance of logging licence’ until the problem of illegal logging is stopped. While Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) welcomes what would appear to be Tan Sri Adenan’s resolve to curb the scourge of

Manila, Philippines / Sarawak, Malaysia – Environmental and human rights groups from Malaysia and internationally are calling on the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to shelve a proposal to loan up to US$45 million for building the “Trans-Borneo Power Grid” (transmission lines) in Sarawak, Malaysia. This week, 40 organizations issued a letter to the President of

Press Statement 8 October 2014 Thousands of oil palm smallholders in Sarawak are severely impacted by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) directive prohibiting traders from purchasing fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) of ‘suspicious’ origins. The directive came into effect since 1 July, 2014. It has come to Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)’s knowledge that at least

From 10-12 September 2014, thousands of people will converge in Kuala Lumpur for ASEAN Power Week. The conference sponsors, including Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), are welcoming the delegates arriving for this three day conference and introducing their vision of power generation in Malaysia. On this occasion, people representing communities in

As the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) is going to take place prior to the UN General Assembly at the UN Headquarters on September 22-23, 2014, the Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) appeals to the the Malaysian government to support a strong Outcome Document for the WCIP. The objectve of the WCIP is to

10 September 2014 – for immediate release International power companies meeting in KL this week have met with protests: indigenous peoples are asking them not to become involved in Malaysian dam building. (KUALA LUMPUR / MALAYSIA) Indigenous peoples from all over Malaysia travelled to their capital city today to ask the international power industry, which

08 September 2014 – for immediate release (BASEL / SWITZERLAND, KUALA LUMPUR / MALAYSIA) International power companies have received a letter from the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) informing them of the financial, legal and reputational risks associated with investing in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The Swiss NGO’s market outreach campaign coincides with the ASEAN

Miri: Villagers from Baram were angered by a statement from their community leader, Penghulu Paul Kalang which was published in the Borneo Post on 4th September 2014. They all voiced out their disappointment that they are being sidelined in the decision making to determine their livelihood and future related to the proposed Baram dam. In

03 September 2014 BASEL, SWITZERLAND. An explosive new book by Swiss historian and campaigner Lukas Straumann is about to rock Malaysia’s corridors of power. Money Logging investigates what Gordon Brown has called ‘probably the biggest environmental crime of our times’—the massive destruction of the Borneo rainforests by Malaysian loggers. Historian and campaigner Lukas Straumann goes

BRUNO MANSER FUND, BASEL / SWITZERLAND 27 August 2014 Sarawak’s logging companies have created a road network 88,111 km long in the Malaysian state’s rainforest – this is the latest revelation on the Bruno Manser Fund’s Sarawak Geoportal. (BASEL, SWITZERLAND / SARAWAK, MALAYSIA) The Malaysian state of Sarawak is known for its unsustainable logging practices.

25 August 2014 Two newly discovered animal species from Borneo remember the missing Swiss rainforest advocate (BERN / SWITZERLAND) A team of Swiss scientists honour missing rainforest advocate Bruno Manser with the announcement of the discovery of two new animal species in the tropical rainforests of Borneo. This was announced today by the Natural History

Kuala Lumpur: A blockade to resist a hydroelectric dam in Baram in the Malaysian state of Sarawak marks its 300th days today on Monday 18th August 2014. As an event for the occasion, a group of villagers from around the proposed dam site are in Kuala Lumpur to participate in a forum at the nation

BRUNO MANSER FUND & INTERNATIONAL RIVERS 18 August, 2014 Media Contacts: In Malaysia: Tanya Lee, Program Coordinator, International Rivers – Ph: 60194380539 (Malaysia)| Email: [email protected] In Switzerland: Bruno Manser Fund – Ph: 41 61 261 94 74| Email: [email protected] Fact-finding mission reports on fundamental human rights violations committed by Malaysian company Sarawak Energy at the

18 August 2014 MIRI – Villagers from Long Tuyut, Sungai Pelajau, Loagan Bunut and Long Teru, Tinjar, Baram and villagers from Kampung Lebor, Serian are crying foul over the actions of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MBOB) directive to oil palm ramps and mills to not receive and buy fresh oil palm fruit bunches from

  8 August 2014 Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) calls on the government to urgently review and revamp the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in Sarawak due to its inadequacies, specifically on its lack of mandatory public participation. Unlike its Federal counterpart, the Sarawak EIA law excludes mandatory public participation in the process, relegating the matter to

The Bar Council, through its Committee on Orang Asli Rights and Human Rights Committee, undertook a study trip to the Metalun and Tegulang Resettlement Areas in Murum, Sarawak from 17 to 23 May 2014. The primary purpose of the trip was to study the post-relocation conditions of the Penan and Kenyah native communities, which had

Miri – Land owners from Long Keseh and Na’ah submitted an official complaint to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and made a police report on the illegal logging activities which are carried out on the access road and site of the proposed Baram dam.  The basis of their claim is that the documents for the timber

Miri: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu’s statement as published in the Borneo Post on 22nd July is irrational, insincere and outright rude. The reason why the Baram district is the most underdeveloped part of the state is due to the government’s neglect. The minister has no reason to blame others for this but himself