The Eroded Old Malay Customary Forest on Bangka Island (bahasa Indonesia)

This story excerpt was translated from bahasa Indonesia. To read the original story in full, visit Mongabay. You may also view the original story on the Rainforest Journalism Fund website here. The website is available in English, Spanish, bahasa Indonesia, French, and Portuguese.

Mapur is not an aggressive and dangerous Malay tribe. For hundreds of years, they lived in the forests of the northern tip of Bangka Island, which overlooks the South China Sea. After the Orde Baru [New Order] regime in Indonesia ended in 1998, the old Malay living space on Bangka Island was controlled by oil palm plantation companies, tin mining, Industrial Plantation Forests, and shrimp ponds.

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"This is our remaining forest. Others have become oil palm plantations or mined tin," said Atuk Sukar [67], aka Sukarman, in his cottage in the form of a wooden stilt house, in Benak, Pejem Hamlet, Bukit Pelawan Village, Belinyu District, Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands, mid-February 2022.

Atuk Sukar is the Head of The Mapur Tribe in Pejem Hamlet. Atuk Sukar means "Grandpa Is Difficult".