Communities that question, check SSM before signing anything cannot be easily tricked

An aerial view of Uma Belor, Sungai Asap in Belaga.

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, April 9: A community that searches the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) before signing any document from its own leaders is a community that cannot be tricked or sold without knowing it.

Punan National Association co-founder Calvin Jemarang raised concerns over villagers in rural and remote areas being unaware of land deals negotiated in their name, and highlighted how this vigilance can start to transform longhouses and communities such as in Belaga, Sarawak, where generations of land stewardship intersect with modern development pressures.

Calvin Jemarang

Jemarang observed how some trusted leaders with official titles and stamp recognised by both the community and the government have sometimes used their positions to negotiate business deals, such as oil palm development involving hectares of land families have farmed, fished and lived on for generations, without informing the families whose land is involved.

“On paper, it may look like everyone agreed. But in reality, the profits flow to private entities controlled by a few individuals, leaving villagers unaware that their land is being leveraged.

“The trick only works in the dark,” Jemarang said, describing how these schemes rely on three elements: a legitimate community role, a separate private company run by the same people, and the knowledge gap between what villagers know and what is hidden.

“Take away that gap, and the scheme falls apart. That is all it takes,” he pointed out in a statement today.

Jemarang, who is also a blogger and journalist, expressed relief how young community members, like teachers, clinic assistants, and former land survey workers, have started asking critical questions on WhatsApp groups.

“They ask: Has anyone seen the financial report? Who actually owns this company negotiating our land? Who actually agreed to this? The answers they get tell you everything. When responses are hidden or meetings kept secret, that’s when you know something is wrong,” he said.

Jemarang stressed that the solution is simple: searching the SSM database, which publicly lists all registered companies, their directors, and shareholders.

“All you need is a phone and about 30 minutes.

“A community that understands what it means to sign over a Power of Attorney (meaning handing someone else the legal right to make decisions on your behalf) is a community that reads before it puts its thumbprint down,” he reminded.

Despite limited electricity and unreliable power sources, Jemarang noted a change in Belaga: villagers are increasingly informed, asking questions, and demanding transparency.

“In some communities, the WhatsApp groups are louder than they used to be, and less afraid. Someone learned to use the Companies Commission search and shared what they found,” he said.

He shared that even legal aid groups in Kuching have reported receiving calls from villagers who previously stayed silent, showing the information gap that once allowed exploitation is slowly closing.

“Some of the elders who once pressed their thumbprints onto documents they could not read are now, for the first time, asking to see what those documents said.

“The letters are still being written. The trick is still running. But the gap between what people know and what is being hidden from them is getting smaller every month. And that is where the work begins,” he said. — DayakDaily