SANDAKAN – The Bajau Laut community getting evicted and their houses burnt is a violation of Article 5 of the Federal Constitution and humanitarian values, said human rights lawyers.
Lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh said Article 5 safeguards fundamental human rights, and that no one should be deprived of life or personal liberty.
“There are reports aplenty, accompanied by photographs of the burning houses of the Bajau Laut. It is violence of the worst kind bordering on barbarism when the powers that be are burning down the houses of the Bajau Laut.
“How different are we from the Nazis that perpetrated an attack against their own people named Kristallnacht in 1938?”
The lawyers also said the Bajau Laut community has faced systematic discrimination, with their homes and properties burned and destroyed, in stark contradiction to Malaysia’s vocal support for the Palestinians’ plight.
“Malaysia must stop treating our indigenous people like the enemy and must provide all the support necessary to ensure that their rights as citizens of this country are protected. They deserve nothing less,” they said in a statement.
Recently, Facebook user Tzu Wong posted videos of houses of the Bajau Laut being torn down and burned, claiming that it was taken during a big operation by enforcement personnel at Tun Sakaran Marine Park (TSMP), on June 4.
This has garnered heavy criticism from the public, including Mukmin Nantang, an activist who has been vocal about the Bajau Laut in Semporna.
“I heard that a child had passed away because they were forced out of their homes in fear when their houses were being demolished. A lot of people asked, what happened to them now?
“Many of them live on the scraps of their destroyed houses without a roof. It is puzzling that they are left to be homeless just like that. No compensation or alternative for them to find shelter.
“Does the government want to destroy them? Maybe murder is too cruel. So, they (the government) destroyed their homes, burned their boats, and let them die slowly? Is that their intention?” he said in his Facebook post today.
Meanwhile, Sabah Parks director Maklarin Lakim told Scoop that the agency was not involved in the demolition of the houses in TSMP, despite the park being under its jurisdiction.
“The operation was under the Semporna District Security Committee, and the park is also a forbidden area under Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom),” he said, adding that Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew will be issuing a statement on the matter.
The Bajau Laut, locally called the Palauh – or sea gypsies – are sea-faring nomads who traditionally live on boats at sea for most of their lives.
They came to Sabah in the 1970s to escape war in the Philippines, and today, most of them are in Semporna, Tawau, and Lahad Datu, relying on marine catch for their survival.
They are categorised as stateless, and according to the United Nations are not considered nationals by any state under the operation of law.
Scoop has reached out to Tzu Wong and Mukmin for updates on the ground. – June 7, 2024