SANDAKAN – Four individuals, including Borneo Komrad founder Mukmin Nantang and villagers from Pulau Bodgaya in Semporna, were reportedly detained by Sabah Parks enforcement personnel after allegedly intervening in the demolition of illegal structures on the island earlier today.
According to sources within Borneo Komrad, Mukmin and fellow member Putri Purnama visited Pulau Bodgaya around 9am to observe the ongoing demolition by government agencies, including Sabah Parks, which began yesterday.
The activists reportedly confronted the authorities, accusing them of violating the human rights of the island’s residents, which include both locals and the stateless Bajau Laut community.
Following the confrontation, Mukmin and the other individuals were detained and taken to the Sabah Parks office for further investigation.
Semporna acting police chief, Fauzi Abd Kadir, clarified that the police were not involved in the detentions. He acknowledged that Mukmin and several others were being held at the Sabah Parks office but said that the case falls under the Parks Enactment 1984 and is not a police matter.
A local resident of Semporna, Salleh Abdul Salleh, told Scoop that villagers on Pulau Bodgaya were warned by Sabah Parks personnel not to photograph the demolition process, with the threat of arrest if they did so. He added that his close friend, Musal Kalim Mahalil, a resident of Pulau Bodgaya, is among those detained at the Sabah Parks office.
“All the houses including the Bajau Laut stilt huts and the locals’ houses have been demolished, yesterday and today. They (authority) do not respect the native rights.
“I heard that they have been taken to Sabah Parks office to be fined. I believe that after this, Mukmin will take this case to the police because this is just not right.
“Even though the land is gazetted under the Tun Sakaran Marine Park (TSMP) and is under the Sabah Parks, Sabah Parks should be aware of the history. The locals in Pulau Bodgaya have been there before the island was gazetted as TSMP, and there was a mini-constitution governing TSMP that protects the rights of the natives to remain there,” he said.
Pulau Bodgaya, located approximately 37 km from the Semporna mainland, is home to about 200 locals and 300 Bajau Laut people.
Scoop is awaiting responses from Sabah Parks Semporna, Musal, and Mukmin regarding the matter.
In June, Scoop reported that authorities demolished 138 illegal houses in the TSMP between June 4 and 6.
The operation involved multiple agencies, including Sabah Parks, police, marine police, the Semporna district office, Eastern Sabah Security Command, the Immigration Department, the National Registration Department, and the Semporna District Council.
Public outcry ensued after videos emerged showing the demolished houses being burned, with human rights lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh condemning the actions as “barbaric.” – August 14, 2024