Premier: Dayaks have right to benefit from Sarawak’s carbon economy

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By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, June 28: Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has thrown his support behind calls for greater indigenous participation in Sarawak’s carbon economy, declaring that Dayak communities have the right to benefit from carbon policies because they are the State’s “custodians of carbon”.

Responding to an appeal by Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) president Dato Allan Keripin Nangkai during the 17th Joint DCCI–KCCI Gawai Kaamatan Celebration 2026 gala dinner held at Unifor Complex tonight, the Premier said the State’s indigenous communities are integral to Sarawak’s carbon future.

“When Allan Keripin mentioned about Dayak participation, you are there.

“You are the custodian of carbon and therefore you have the right to benefit from carbon policy,” he said.

Abang Johari said Sarawak had recognised the importance of climate action early by enacting its own law governing greenhouse gas emissions two years before similar federal legislation was introduced.

He said any national carbon policy must acknowledge the crucial role of Sabah and Sarawak, which together hold most of Malaysia’s remaining forests capable of absorbing and storing carbon.

“Because of that, the law must recognise that Malaysia’s carbon policy depends on Sabah and Sarawak. The law has to be fair,” he said.

The Premier revealed that he had proposed to the federal government that a substantial portion of any future carbon tax revenue collected nationally should be returned to Sabah and Sarawak.

“I said before you implement your carbon tax, you have to consider the component of the tax that should be given to Sabah and Sarawak because we are the storage area of carbon.

“If there is a carbon tax of X dollars, 70 per cent of that tax must come back to Sabah and Sarawak because we are the custodian of carbon,” he explained.

He said Sarawak’s forests, mangroves and peatlands have become strategic economic assets in the era of climate change, noting that mangrove forests store four times more carbon than ordinary forests.

Abang Johari added that Sarawak’s Post-COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030) is anchored on economic prosperity, social inclusivity and environmental sustainability, stressing that prosperity from the carbon economy must be shared by all communities.

Looking beyond Malaysia, Abang Johari also proposed closer collaboration among business chambers in Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan and Brunei to position Borneo as a global force in the carbon economy.

He said he floated the idea during a speech to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jakarta several months ago, arguing that climate change presents an opportunity for the island to leverage its natural assets collectively.

Abang Johari noted that Borneo, the world’s third-largest island, spans about 748,168 sq km, is home to about 23 million people, and retains approximately 427,500 sq km of forest cover—roughly 60 per cent of its total land area. It also boasts one of the world’s oldest tropical rainforests.

“In other words, this is where carbon is stored,” he said, adding that collaboration between the DCCI, the Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and business chambers in Kalimantan would position Borneo as the global player in this climate issue.

Also present were the Works Minister Dato Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi; National Unity Minister Dato Sri Aaron Ago Dagang; Sarawak Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato Sri John Sikie Tayai; former Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang; Yayasan Tun Jugah chairman Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Leonard Linggi Jugah; DCCI president Dato Allan Keripin Nangkai; KCCI president Datuk Ladislaus Maluda; and the event’s organising chairman Kilat Beriak. — DayakDaily

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