This report was from Mr Ben Chai of Miri:
The Madai Caves in Kunak.
Picture from “Sabah – Lands of the Sacred Mountain” by Albert CK Teo
28th April, 2008 KUNAK:
Perturbed with the seemingly slow action by the police, Madai Caves heirs or pewaris will take their own action to eject ‘intruders’ from stealing the much sought-after bird’s nests.They believe that if they don’t take their action quickly and with the authorities dragging their feet, they would incur even bigger losses and put their lives at stake.
Although they did not disclose what sort of action they would be taking, Idderis Hj Butin, 43, a spokesperson for the group of more than 400 pewaris of the Madai Caves, said they would lodge a fresh report with the Kunak police first. The angry pewaris have charged that a legion of between 200 – 300 intruders, who are believed to be the foreigners, have raided the caves for the prized bird’s nests.The group claimed that the heavily armed intruders had plundered at least RM2 million worth of bird’s nests from eight caves since they illegally entered the place some 10 days ago.
Yesterday, Idderis told New Sabah Times in a telephone interview that they had no choice but to defend their rights on their own because police action not only came late, but it did not serve its purpose.“This (the decision to oust the intruders) is the consensus reached among ourselves (the owners) as the much-belated raids conducted by the police clearly showed that they are apparently not really keen and committed to safeguard our interest and safety.“This is because currently there are still a large number of the intruders hiding inside the caves.
We fear for our safety because these intruders are armed,” he said.Describing the sacking of the caves as the biggest ever ‘bird’s nests heist’ in the history of bird’s nest trade in Sabah since 1910, Idderis said they were only protecting was is rightfully theirs.The decision came after the end of the much belated raids conducted by a 20-strong police team from the Kunak police station over the weekend, which the pewaris regarded as a ‘fiasco’.This was because in the two raids conducted by the contingent on Saturday noon and yesterday morning in the forested hills, the police were said to have only succeeded in capturing 14 out of what the pewaris claimed to be hundreds of intruders.
The police also recovered a large collection of weapons like the Samurai swords, the machete, and spears. It was reported recently in a local Chinese daily quoting State Police Commissioner, Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim as saying that police were aware of the intrusion in the Madai Caves.Noor was quoted as saying that police would mount an operation to catch the intruders soon, after conducting a thorough probe into the numerous complaints lodged by the pewaris.However, the pewaris of the Madai Caves were obviously dissatisfied with the manner and approach of the police in handling the case; they considered it as not only slow but also uncommitted for ‘strange’ reasons.
Ideris claimed that police action only came nine days after they sent out numerous distress calls coupled with lodging numerous police reports at the Kunak police station.He also estimated that the losses incurred by the pewaris in the past nine days of plundering to the tune of more than RM2 million based on the current domestic market price for the bird’s nests at RM2,000 per kg. This is also believed to cost the State government hefty losses in revenue due to the fact that a 10 per cent tax is imposed by the State Wildlife Department on the bird’s nests harvest.It was believed that the bird’s nests was smuggled out by these intruders at night with the help of ‘insiders’ whom they now regarded as ‘traitors’ of their own kind.The intruders were also said to have set up camps on the hills and food rations was supplied to them by their aides at night.
He also suspected that the intrusion cum heist of the Madai Caves could be a major scheme undertaken by these traitors that was prompted by a lucrative bird’s nest market that was increasingly in high demand, in China especially where the bird’s nest is a popular-yet-luxurious delicacy.
It was believed to be fetching as high as RM5,000 per ounce (28.35 grams) in China nowadays.
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