BRUNO MANSER FONDS, BASEL / SWITZERLAND
Press release
United Overseas Bank (UOB) agreed to lend USD 31.775 million to Malaysian oil palm company Radiant Lagoon for oil palm plantations near Sarawak’s Mulu National Park – Swiss rainforest conservation group calls on UOB to immediately recall all loans granted to Radiant Lagoon
Destructive Logging by Radiant Lagoon near Mulu National Park, January 2019 (Source: Bruno Manser Fonds)
(SINGAPORE) A major Singapore bank is facing allegations of funding the destruction of tropical rainforests in Sarawak, a state in Malaysian Borneo.
According to official records, the Malaysian branch of Singapore-headquartered United Overseas Bank agreed to lend up to USD 31.775 million to Radiant Lagoon, an oil palm plantation firm currently involved in a major controversy with indigenous Penan and Berawan communities over the destruction of tropical forests in Sarawak’s Mulu region.
The charges are guaranteed by two lots of land comprising 4400 hectares of tropical rainforests in the Tutoh and Apoh land district in the immediate vicinity of the UNESCO-protected Mulu National Park.
Two legal charges under the Sarawak land code were registered in Malayisan Ringgit with an amount of MYR 54.6 million (USD 13.4 million). Two further foreign currency charges were registered over the same lands with a principal sum of USD 18.375 million. All charges were registered in mid-October 2018, only weeks before Radiant Lagoon started logging the Mulu rainforest.
Last month, Penan and Berawan communities staged blockades to protest the destruction of their forests over which they claim Native Customary Rights. The communities had not been properly consulted by the Sarawak state government nor by Radiant Lagoon before their forest lands were given away for logging.
Malaysian Minister “very concerned”
The events led Malaysian Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok issue a statement that she was “very concerned“ on the issue and that her ministry would be presenting a paper “on “stopping the oil palm expansion“ in an upcoming meeting with state leaders.
“As land is a state matter, I am counting on the [Sarawak] state government to take the appropriate measures to resolve the matter in the interest of the state, the indigenous people and our national sustainability agenda,” she said.
The Bruno Manser Fonds calls on UOB to immediately withdraw all loans granted to Radiant Lagoon. “It is shameful for a Singapore bank to fund the destruction of one of the world’s most biodiverse habitats“, the Swiss NGO said in a statement.
Mulu National Park is one of Sarawak’s major tourist attractions and has been recognized in 2000 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its immense biodiversity.
Attached Documents and Pictures:
Doc 1: Radiant Lagoon Charges – overview (Source: Companies Commission Malaysia)
Doc 2: Malaysian Ringgit charges by UOB to Radiant Lagoon (Source: Companies Commission Malaysia)
Doc 3: US Dollar charges by UOP to Radiant Lagoon (Source: Companies Commission Malaysia)
THERE IS OBVIOUSLY CORRUPTION HERE! Companies like this are doing massive harm to the Palm Oil Industry, tarnishing it’s already damaged reputation, worldwide.
Then we have the serious issues of environmental and Human Rights abuses.