KUCHING - Sex crimes against the Penans have been going on for the past 10 years but Sarawak and the Federal Government have chosen to turn a blind eye towards them, says Wanita PKR.

It condemned Sarawak for being in denial despite the release of a Penan Taskforce report detailing the abuses over the years.

In a statement emailed to Malaysian Mirror on Monday, Wanita PKR deputy chief Rodziah Ismail said the over 100-page report made for heartbreaking reading.

Vile acts

"Girls as young as 10 years old were sexually abused and raped," she said.

“Testimonies in the report described the widespread crimes of loggers or logging truck drivers sexually abusing and molesting schoolgirls along their way to school.

"It outlines a common practice of forcing schoolboys to get down from the vehicle they were hitching a ride on, while the logging truck drivers proceed to molest or rape the girls.

“Another common tactic used by the loggers to hunt their prey was by going to villages to buy food and later enticed the girls and asked to have sex with them."

Following the report, Wanita Keadilan chief and Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin sought a meeting with Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister and Minister in charge of Penan affairs Alfred Jabu but he refused to meet her.

One-year delay

Describing the rapes as one of the worst crimes against humanity, she said the ministry had unreasonably withheld the taskforce report for nearly a year and many quarters had called for an explanation for the late release.

The report, prepared by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, was released to Wanita Keadilan chief Zuraida Kamaruddin after the group demonstrated outside the office of its minister, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, on Sept 8.

In contrast, Rodziah said, Selangor has been supportive of the Penans and had urged Sarawak to take steps to protect them. It had also donated RM50,000 to the Penan Support Group.

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