www.survivalinternational.org/news/5164

Blow to Malaysian palm oil industry as UK bans advert
Penan tribe in Borneo welcomes ban

Survival International
2 November
 
Oil palms planted on recently-deforested land, Sarawak - (c.) M Ross/ Survival



An advert for Malaysian palm oil has been banned in the UK, dealing a major blow to the credibility of Malaysia's palm oil industry. Members of the hunter-gatherer Penan tribe in Borneo have welcomed the ban, saying, "Oil palm plantations have not benefited us at all; they have only robbed us of our resources and land."

The Penan live in Sarawak, in the Malaysian part of Borneo, and are fighting to stop the forests they rely on being cut down to make way for oil palm plantations. Survival is calling on the Malaysian government to halt plantations and logging on their land without their consent.

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority banned the magazine advert, placed by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council. The advert claimed that Malaysian palm oil was "sustainable" and contributed to "the alleviation of poverty, especially amongst rural populations".

The advertising regulator ruled that these and other claims made in the advert were misleading and could not be substantiated.

Members of the Penan tribe who have already lost much of their land to oil palm plantations said today:

"Our people welcome the ban on the magazine advert by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council. How come the advert claimed that palm oil helps alleviate poverty, when from the very beginning oil palm plantations have destroyed our source of livelihood and made us much poorer? A lot of people are hungry every day because our forest has been destroyed."

Oil palm plantations and logging are destroying the forests the Penan hunt and gather in, and polluting the rivers they fish in. Without their forests they have difficulty finding enough food.

Survival's director Stephen Corry said today, "Claims that Malaysian palm oil is green and people-friendly will not wash, especially with the Penan. The industry's expansion onto their land is a disaster."

Palm oil is used in many everyday grocery products, and is increasingly being used for biofuel.


Download the banned advert: http://assets.survivalinternational.org/documents/108/MPOC_magazine_ad.pdf

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Act now to help the Penan
Write a letter to the government of Sarawak in Malaysia urging action on the Penan's situation.

Since the 1970s, the Penan have had their forest destroyed by logging and oil palm plantations. The government has told the Penan that they have no rights to their land at all until they "settle down" or start farming.
The Malaysian government claims that Sarawak is being logged sustainably, but in fact its forests are being destroyed at one of the fastest rates in the world. As the forests are logged, the rivers are silted up, killing the fish. The game is being scared deeper into the few remaining forests.
The Penan have been fighting back by erecting blockades across the logging roads. Many Penan have been arrested for these peaceful protests.
Please write raising your concerns about the situation of the Penan. You can use Survival's sample letter or write you own.

-- sample letter--

To:
YAB Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud
Chief Minister of Sarawak
Office of the Chief Minister of Sarawak
22nd Floor, Wisma Bapa Malaysia Petra Jaya
Kuching
93502
Sarawak
Malaysia

[insert Date]

Dear Minister,

I am extremely concerned about the situation of the Penan tribe. Since their rights to their lands are not recognised, they are under threat from logging, oil palm plantations and hydroelectric dams. These developments are rapidly destroying the Penan's forests, without which they cannot survive.

Logging scares away the animals the Penan hunt, pollutes the rivers and kills the fish. Once the valuable trees have gone, the forests are cleared completely to make way for oil palm. Many Penan have also been told they must leave their land to make way for the first in a series of new hydroelectric dams.

I urge your government to recognise the Penan's rights to ownership of their land, as enshrined in international law, and to halt all development on their land without their free, prior and informed consent.

Yours sincerely,
(your full name + address)


-- end sample letter--

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