Next week, Swiss human rights and environmental NGO, Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF), will face a powerful Malaysian heiress in a defamation lawsuit. Jamilah Taib Murray, daughter of the Governor of Sarawak, Malaysia, her husband Sean Murray, and her corporation Sakto Group, are suing BMF in the Civil Court of Basel-Stadt,...
Amid new official reports that confirm community claims, civil society calls for SIRIM to cancel timber giant Samling’s MTCS certificate for the Gerenai Forest Management Unit in Baram (MIRI / BARAM / SARAWAK) This week, five civil society and community organisations called on SIRIM QAS International Sdn to revoke the...
Representatives of the Penan people from Sarawak (Borneo) and other leading experts will come to Basel, Switzerland in August for an event to bear witness to the destruction of Borneo’s forests: The Rainforest Tribunal. The aim of the Tribunal is to take stock after decades of deforestation and ruthless exploitation of the rainforest: What are the...
SAVE Rivers shocked as timber company uses its chairman’s name on webpage about community engagement in apparent attempt to enhance its image (MIRI / BARAM / SARAWAK) Local civil society organization SAVE Rivers was shocked to see their chairman’s name on Samling’s website in a description apparently intended to strengthen...
Dear Friends, I’ve just returned back to California from Malaysian Borneo, where Fi and I (the two-person staff of The Borneo Project) spent several weeks helping our partners, SAVE Rivers, prepare for a long-awaited trial against timber giant Samling. A few days before the trial was scheduled to start, we...
Indigenous communities hold peaceful demonstration and global civil society stands in solidarity with SAVE Rivers as they face a defamation lawsuit (MIRI/SARAWAK/MALAYSIA) Today, timber giant Samling and Indigenous grassroots organisation SAVE Rivers were scheduled to face off at the Miri High Court in Sarawak. Last week, however, the judge adjourned...
160 groups and local communities rally behind grassroots NGO SAVE Rivers through letters and an email petition demanding timber company Samling withdraw its abusive lawsuit, which goes to trial in May at the Miri High Court. (Miri/Sarawak/Malaysia) 160 global civil society organizations sent a solidarity letter demanding timber company Samling...
December, 2022 Dear Friends of The Borneo Project, Another epic year in the books for us! This year saw the culmination of many years of work at The Borneo Project. We were finally able to put boots on the ground and meet our partners in person after two long years...
Last month, the community of Long Moh submitted a letter to Samling demanding compensation for unpermitted logging on their land. Dated November 8th, the letter was signed by 300 community members and is the second plea made by the community to Samling, after an initial letter sent in September received...
