Solomon Islands: Samling told to pack up and leave
Local landowners have stopped the Malaysian group's illegal operations on the Solomon islands
By Trixie Carter, Solomon Star
A MALAYSIAN logging company ‘Samling Sun’ currently operating in South Malaita was told to pack up and leave.
Representative of Hailadami Ouou Matawa council of chiefs, Henry Stardora said they want the company to withdraw immediately from the land it is operating in.
Mr Stardora said they oppose the planned operation because no agreements have been reached.
“We mean no harm to the company but we want them to leave the area.”
Mr Stardora said the company operates under illegal license and without approval from the ministry of forestry and landowners.
He said they reported the matter to the Ministry of forestry and the company was issued with a warning letter on 11 December to withdraw its plans.
In a statement the Ministry of Forestry said the piece of land where the company landed its machines has not gone through timber rights.
It further stated that without the approval from the Ministry, the company is advice to immediately stop all its operations and remove its machines from the said land.
The Ministry said they held talks with landowners during which an agreement was reached for the company to stop any operations and withdraw from the area.
Mr Stardora claimed that Samling Sun is a longtime logging company operating in the country that normally ignores laws of this country.
He said the company also operates in other provinces and landowners must keep an eye on them.
(30 December 2009)
Source: Solomon Star, 29 December 2009
COMMENT by the Bruno Manser Fund:
The Bruno Manser Fund presumes that Samling Sun is a subsidiary of Samling Global, a Malaysian timber group listed at the Hong Kong stock exchange (HK 3938). In its Global Offering prospectus, issued in 2007, Samling Global did not mention Samling Sun nor any other logging activities on the Solomon Islands. This is likely to be an offence against the Hong Kong stock exchange regulations. Samling Global owes the public an explanation on its exact links with Samling Sun.
The Malaysian Samling group and its owners, the Yaw family, have a track record of illegal logging in Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and Guyana.
In December 2009, five indigenous Penan communities filed collective lawsuits against the Samling group's operations in Sarawak, East Malaysia. According to the plaintiffs, the Samling group's timber licenses were issued by the Sarawak state government in an "oppressive, arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional" manner.
