SIBU: Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has described the act of the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) in forcibly confiscating bird’s nest stocks without reasonable justification as “little Napoleons”.
SFC Sibu branch had on May 3 seized up to RM2.5mil worth of bird’s nest stocks from four licensed traders, causing them to suffer great losses.
"But there has been no reasons or explanations given for the SFC’s raid; their rogue act has made them out as little Napoleons who act as they like," said the Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, who is also Dudong assemblyman, in a statement on Sunday (May 21).
According to the companies, all of the affected businesses in the four shophouses possess bird’s next licences issued by the SFC, although one of them had expired.
"However, the authorities had broken into the premises without any search warrants and seized the bird’s nest supplies for unknown reasons. If those items are damaged during the seizure, who would be liable for the losses?" he asked.
Regardless of the licence’s status, Tiong, who is also Bintulu MP, said it does not give the enforcement units the right to seize those stocks without justification.
He said until now, the enforcement units have kept the seized items and without any explanations.
He also said for an expired licence, the merchants should only be subject to fines.
Tiong added that he had intended to bring up the incident in the ongoing Sarawak assembly sitting to seek answers from the relevant departments and ministries.
"But due to delays impeding my attendance, I am forced to issue this statement to the authorities to investigate the incident,” he said.
The ministers in charge of these enforcement units must strive to get the views of the affected people from time to time, instead of relying only on the words of civil servants, who abuse their authority like little Napoleons, he added.
"The arrest of fishing boats in waters that were only recently converted to national park status is another example. There had been no notices or dialogues to inform of the change, but fishing vessels were detained for wandering into certain waters that are no longer open to fishing, which the Sarawak Fishing Vessels Association have described as improper enforcement," he added.
Despite attempts to negotiate with the enforcement authorities, they have insisted on settling the matter in court.
"In the end, the court ruled that the authorities did not enforce the law properly and the fishermen won the case.
“However, the fishermen still had to bear the losses from their damaged fishing boats and rotting fish. Who will compensate the fishermen for their losses?" he asked.
Ting said all parties must realise that people across the country have suffered heavy economic losses due to the pandemic.
The government agencies are supposed to do their best to support their recovery, instead of adding to their burden, he added.
Tiong said he would also seek to discuss the matter with the Sarawak Premier for an amicable resolution.
