The original inhabitant’s life marginalized without Identification

SIBUTI - Rh Banyang, Sg. Sengkabang located in Sibuti constituency that takes one hour from Miri city. Most of the people there are Iban and worked as a farmer. The entrance to the longhouse Sengkabang was so bad when the rainy season where the path muddy, slippery and difficult for vehicles to move around. Besides the problems of roads, clean water supply was also among the problems faced by Rh Sengkabang residents and they had to use the river water and rainwater for daily use. The Malaysian Government recently contributed 1Malaysia water tank to the people in the longhouse.

Recently, PAS Miri has also traveled to Rh Sengkabang and met with the Iban community there. They welcome the PAS entourage very well and friendly. They told the fate of their lives after their original longhouse burned about 5 years ago. To date there is no assistance from the government to help them to rebuild their longhouses which burnt. They had to build their own in the harsh conditions just to keep them from rain and heat.

The natives have no identity

In addition to infrastructure problems, many people in the Rh Sengkabang not have a birth certificate and identity card or MyKad. They complained to the PAS to bring this matter to the government in order to help solve their problems immediately. Their lives who do not have this identification like illegal immigrants.

Among the names of the original inhabitants of Rh Sengkabang which not have identification documents is Linda Anak Renggie, 32 years old, Connylia Bunga Anak Kubong, 7 years old, Degeles Ingkie Anak Kubong, 6 years old and many more families who do not have birth certificates and MyKad in Rh Sengkabang.

Among the problems faced by undocumented indigenous are: -
- Not allowed to pursue higher education
- Not allowed to work or hold positions in the public service with the government or private companies
- Not allowed to claim their rights if their lands confiscated
- Not to be given assistance by the Welfare Department
- Not to be given Rm500.00 cash 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) as Malaysian citizens who are eligible
- Not to be given subsidies or welfare facilities such as people those have personal identification documents

Such is the fate that befell those who do not have identity documents they are considered illegal immigrants while their roots are natives of Sarawak.

Among the causes of these people do not have personal identification documents such as birth certificates and identity cards are due to the State roads which difficult to reach and go through the winding road and take a long time to reach the city or towns to make the process of birth and identification cards.

This should be the responsibility of parties such as the National Registration Department to come down to the villages or longhouses to do the registration of births and then processing the identification cards.

People who live far inland as it is not all which could go out to the town to make a birth certificate and identity card because of high travel costs as well as roads severe until now remained the road in Sarawak inland too difficult to penetrate.

We urges the government to look seriously at the problem of the original inhabitants who do not have identity documents because they are part of the Malaysians which isolated from the mainstream of development and their chances of getting the right as citizens should also be considered.

Nor have we heard illegal immigrants are given the facilities and get their citizenship rights while the original inhabitants eliminated from the right and the facility which should. Do not like the saying goes, "Children at home dying of hunger, fed monkeys in the forest."

Be fair to our own people; do not look casually of this problem because the original inhabitants which own their own land not foreigners who seized power in its hands. Only fair and accountable government will strive to overcome of this problem, regardless of race and religion.