All seven people from the Lun Bawang community detained last week for mounting a blockade to stop Petronas workers, were released by Saturday.

NONEAccording to activist Ong Boo Keong, they were arrested in batches on Nov 11 and 12, with some being held at the Lawas police lock-up overnight.

No charges have been preferred against them to date, but they will be required to return to the police station at a later date to confirm this.

The seven were part of a group that had set up the blockade some 15km from Lawas on Nov 4 to demand compensation for the Petronas gas pipeline which passes through land to which they claim native customary rights (NCR).

They had managed to stop trucks belonging to Petronas’ contractor, SS Gas Pipeline, from transporting workers, most of whom are believed to be foreigners.

However, the blockade was breached after the police tore down their tent and dismantled the barrier.

“But there are plans to resume it,” Ong said of what is believed to be one of the many blockades along the 500km pipeline in the interior of Sarawak.

It is understood that Petronas had offered an ex-gratia payment of “a few thousand ringgit” to the community in exchange for dismantling the blockade, but this was turned down.

The RM1.6 billion pipeline, when completed, will run south from Kimanis in Papar district, through to Beaufort and Sipitang before crossing the state boundary into at least Lawas, Ba Kelalan and Bintulu.

The project, which started in January, particularly affects the Lun Bawang, Kayan and Penan communities as the pipeline will claim large tracts of NCR land.