Bajau Laut community in Semporna alleges eviction, homes destroyed

The Star

Hundreds of Bajau Laut people in the Semporna district in Sabah have claimed that they lost their homes after authorities destroyed their properties.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00Hundreds of Bajau Laut people in the Semporna district have allegedly lost their homes after

00:08authorities reportedly destroyed their properties.

00:12According to Borneo Comrade, a local non-governmental organization, a demolition operation was conducted

00:18on June 4 during which wooden steel houses were torn down and burned.

00:26Mukmin Nantang, founder of Borneo Comrade, claimed that the operation took place on Tuesday

00:32and Wednesday, targeting the Bajau Laut community living on seven islands in Semporna, including

00:38Pulau Bohe Dulang, Pulau Maiga, Pulau Botgaya, Pulau Sepangat and Pulau Sipuan.

00:46He stated that the demolition of their steel houses on these seven islands underscores

00:51critical issues of racism, developmental injustice and statelessness in Sabah.

01:02Pusat Komas, a human rights NGO, also noted that the Bajau Laut who lead a nomadic lifestyle

01:09at sea and live in small boats or houses on stilts along the coast or in shallow waters,

01:14face systemic discrimination.

01:18The NGO argued that their forced removal raises serious concerns about the equitable

01:23treatment of ethnic minorities in Malaysia and emphasised the importance of ensuring

01:29that all communities are respected and protected under national and international human rights

01:35laws.

01:36It added that the eviction of the Bajau Laut without adequate consultation or alternative

01:42housing solutions exemplifies a failure to balance development with social justice.

01:49The citizenship status of many Bajau Laut individuals further complicates their ability

01:55to claim legal rights and protections as many lack proper identification documents exacerbating

02:02their vulnerability to evictions and other forms of disenfranchisement.

02:07Pusat Komas calls on local authorities to halt further evictions and engage in meaningful

02:13dialogue with the Bajau Laut community to find humane and just solutions.

02:19Last year, it was reported that Suhakam received approximately 5,440 complaints from 2015 to

02:272020, many of which involved citizenship issues in Sabah.

02:33Meanwhile, attempts to reach Sabah Parks, Semporna Police and other authorities for

02:38comments on this incident have been unsuccessful.

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