Baru Bian

Early life and education

Baru Bian was born in an impoverished Lun Bawang family on 9 September 1958, to Bian Labo (father) and Takong Taie (mother) in Long Lopeng, Sarawak.The ancestry of Baru Bian can be traced back to Berunut area, near the Adang river, where the latter is the tributary of the Limbang River. All the genuine Lun Bawang people should be able to trace their ancestry to one single common ancestor named Terur Aco. Baru Bian and his six siblings are the twentieth generation since the first Lun Bawang. He is the third child and the eldest son in the family. Both Baru's parents were pastors. Baru's father, Bian Labo was trained at Lawas bible school which was under the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church. Baru's family moved from one village to another because his father was posted to different villages every year. Brought up in a Christian family since childhood, Baru was taught of discipline and doing the right things by his father.

By the age of seven or eight, he followed his father into the jungle to learn hunting and fishing. As he became older, he would learn jungle survival skills, geography and boundary of the ancestral lands, and memorise twenty generations of ancestral names. He attended Primary 1 to 2 at Long Lellang (1966 to 1967), Primary 3 to 4 at Long Semado (1968-1969), and passed common entrance examination at Long Napir (1970 to 1971). After that, he attended Limbang secondary school until Form 5. At one point, he would need to wear modified school blouse left by her sister for the secondary school. He need to hike in the jungles for three days before reaching Lawas and another day journey to reach Limbang. His experiences during journeys through the jungles and mountain streams led him to understand the value of native customary rights (NCR) for pemakai menoa (territorial domain) and pulau galau (communal forest reserve) and also the environmental protection. During the year-end school holidays in 1980, Baru Bian interviewed his father and his uncle Lasong Labo about the history of their family's NCR land. He drew the boundaries of their NCR land and signed by the village headman. The map later proved to be useful in fighting against six logging companies encroaching their lands in Berunut from 1986 to 1990s.

He attended Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang for Form 6 at Tanjong Lobang, Miri, Sarawak. He got a satisfactory result in GCE Ordinary Level examination. After completing his secondary education, he served as a temporary teacher at SMK Medamit, Limbang from 1979 to 1981. He taught geography, History, Physical Education and General Science there. His passion towards native land rights had led him pursued his tertiary education at Institut Teknology Mara (ITM), now Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, Selangor in Diploma in Law (DIL). His uncle, Libat Langub, who was a former student at ITM, encouraged him to study law there. He went to Melbourne to further his studies on Law in 1985. He applied for scholarship from ITM but was denied. Therefore, he decided to take a study loan instead. He subsequently obtained Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the University of Melbourne, Australia in 1986. After his graduation in Australia, Baru decided to come back to Malaysia to serve the needy instead of applying for permanent residency in Australia.

Activism and legal career

Upon graduation, he became a trainee in a law firm named Rashid & Lee in Kuala Lumpur for six months before the law firm stopped paying allowances due to financial difficulties. He then continued his training at Eddy Chung & Co and was employed there until he returned to Kuching in 1988. Baru was subsequently admitted to the Malayan Bar as a lawyer and solicitor. By 1990, Baru became a partner in the firm of Messrs Anthony Ting, Baru Bian & Co. in Kuching, Sarawak. Baru taught himself about native customary rights (NCR) law through Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), an NGO led by Harrison Ngau Laing, an environmentalist. Baru would later become a legal advisor for SAM. In the same year, he represented SAM to Yokohama, Japan to protest against the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) for not including the issues of native customary rights in their report. It was also at this time that Baru Bian met the Swiss activist, Bruno Manser. Bruno would later help Baru to raise RM 30,000 from overseas supporters to fund Baru's 1991 election endeavour. However, Malaysian embassy officials would later take a photo of Baru Bian and Bruno Manser in Yokohama and used the photo to depict Baru as a traitor to Malaysian interests in 1991 election.

Baru filed his first NCR case in 1991 on behalf of his extended family whose ancestral lands in Berunut was encroached by logging companies. However, the case was pending in court after two years. Therefore, Baru and his family members took part in timber blockades which successfully led Samling, a logging company to compensate them RM 100,000. As part of the agreement, Baru withdrew the court case. He set up Messrs Baru Bian Advocates and Solicitors in Kuching in 1992. Baru would later found a legal partner named See Chee How. See is a human rights activist and a lawyer from Kuching. Together, they were involved in numerous native land rights cases. Baru also took up cases related to wrongful arrests or jailed without remand. In 2001, Baru Bian won the Rumah Nor Nyawai case in Sarawak High Court. This was the first time in the history of Malaysian courts that NCR rights was upheld. In 2007, the Federal Court of Malaysia upheld the decision on Rumah Nor Nyawai case that pemakai menua and pulau galau, in addition to temuda (cultivated land before 1 January 1958) are included in the definition of NCR land. In March 2011, Baru successfully led the legal defence team consisting of Civil Rights Lawyers See Chee How & Desmond Kho, resulting in the acquittal of Numpang Suntai who was accused of burning ten items of machinery in a logging camp at Sebangan, Simunjan District for encroaching the latter's ancestral land. By 2013, Baru Bian's law firm had processed more than 200 native land rights cases in court.

Baru's strong belief in the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution of Malaysia had prompted him to take up cases for those who wished to leave the religion of Islam. His representations in the apostasy cases has drawn criticisms from Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), accusing him of contempt against the Islamic religion. He has also been fighting regarding the rights by Christians of Sabah and Sarawak to carry on using the word Allah in the general practise of their Christian faith for generations.

Baru has been a popularly known activist and lawyer who had handled many ancestral lands as well as native customary rights cases and has strong support from churches notably SIB and Dayak community. As an Orang Ulu of Lun Bawang descent, Baru is seen as a hero and fighter especially within the interior Sarawak's Dayak community for his selfless contributions.

Political career

In 1987, Baru had joined Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) at the beginning because the party was advocating NCR rights in Sarawak. In 1989, Baru was elected as PBDS Youth Executive Council member. Baru was also a supreme council member of PBDS. He first contested against Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) governing coalition at Lawas in 1991 but lost. After that, PBDS started negotiating to rejoin Sarawak BN in 1992 and was subsequently admitted into BN in 1994. One of the condition for PBDS to rejoin BN was to stop raising the NCR issues within the state government. However, Baru Bian decided to continue his pursue towards NCR rights cases in court. In September 2004, Baru decided to quit PBDS and went to contest against BN in Ba'kelalan by-election as an Independent but lost again. The already in leadership crisis PBDS was then deregister on 5 October 2004. Baru believed in continuing to uphold the NCR lands among the natives and the need to change the Sarawak state government in order to solve the NCR problems permanently. Baru later tried to join newly formed Malaysian Dayak Congress (MDC) to succeed PBDS but its registration never get to be approved for 2006 Sarawak state election, Baru chose to join Sarawak National Party (SNAP) instead to contest again the Ba'kelalan under SNAP ticket but had lost for the third time. He filed an election petition to Miri High Court on Barisan Nasional (BN)'s vote buying activities in Ba'kelalan but the petition was struck out on technicality grounds. He then decided to retire from politics temporary because he already lost three times in elections.

Following the 2008 Malaysian general election (GE12) which see the ruling coalition, BN's lose its two-thirds majority in the parliament and five states to the opposition since Malaysia's Independence. Baru decided to rejoin politics again to strengthen the two-party system and joined People's Justice Party (PKR) in April 2008, the same time of formation of new Pakatan Rakyat, as a reforms-hopeful informal coalition.

In 2013 Malaysian general election (GE13), Baru Bian decided to contest in Limbang parliamentary seat as PKR candidate. However, he was defeated by a huge margin against BN. In 2015, Sarawak chief minister Adenan Satem invited Baru to join BN, however, he declined the offer. Baru retained the seat in the 2016 Sarawak state election as PKR candidate with an increased majority of 538 votes, also against Willie.

During the 2018 Malaysian general election (GE14), NCR issues at Selangau prompted Baru to contest for the seat. PKR successfully won four seats in Sarawak in GE14 then, pointing to the party newly gained grassroots support and a disunited split in BN's component parties, United Bumiputera Heritage Party (PBB) in Puncak Borneo, Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP) in Miri; and also BN coalition's own disarrays in Saratok and Selangau.

In 2020 Malaysian political crisis, Baru with 10 other PKR MPs led by Mohamed Azmin Ali decided to leave the party to support Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) Prime Minister candidate Mahathir Mohamad to remain as the Prime Minister. However, after Mahathir resigns, BERSATU picked Muhyiddin for the Prime Minister position. Amidst PH also changed their support to Anwar Ibrahim from Mahathir for Prime Minister, Baru had turned Independent rather than follow Azmin's group, joining BERSATU to form the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government with Muhyiddin as Prime Minister, and be accused a hypocrite as well as opportunistic politician. In the aftermath, Baru had finally chosen to join the Sarawak-based United Sarawak Party (PSB) on 30 May 2020.

Baru has managed to retain the Ba'kelalan seat for the third term but as a PSB candidate in a 5 corner contest in the 2021 Sarawak state election.

Personal life

Family

Baru met his current wife Yu Ching Sieu during his studies at Melbourne, Australia when he joined Overseas Christian Fellowship (OCF). Baru returned to Malaysia after graduation in 1986, Ching Sieu was still studying for another year for her double degree. She only returned to Malaysia in 1987. Baru and Ching Sieu was married on 17 December 1988. Baru and Ching Sieu raised three children, all three are now practicing Lawyers. Meanwhile, Ching Sieu is a full-time housewife.

He has six siblings and is the third child and the eldest son. His elder sisters are Mina and Serina. Freddie is his younger brother, followed by a sister named Sigang, a brother Paulus, and another sister named Litad. Baru's father died of stomach cancer in 1993 at the age of 62 and was buried at Miri.

Religion

Baru was baptised at Limbang River in 1973 by a New Zealand missionary named Murray Munroe. A few months before baptism, a testimony given by a former gangster from Singapore during an Inter-School Christian Fellowship (ISCF) meeting had strengthen Baru's belief in Christianity. Baru started to play guitar for Christian songs while he was a member of ISCF at SMK Limbang. He later become the president of ICSF during Form 4 and Form 5. He participated in Young Christian Students Movement (YCSM) year-end mission trips during his secondary school years. During his years at ITM, he attended Full Gospel Assembly Church service at Old Klang Road. He also attended a Christian Fellowship in ITM. When Baru studied at Melbourne, Australia, he attended Overseas Christian Fellowship (OCF).

Hobbies and interests

Baru learned Ngajat dance during his primary school years at Long Lellang. He is able to sing songs in alto since he was in Form 4. Baru also started to play football while he was in Form 6.

Election results

Publications

Baru's memoir, The Long Awakening, coauthored with journalist Deborah Loh, chronicles the Sarawakian leader's personal and political life.

References

References

1. (30 May 2020). "Ex-PKR Sarawak chief Baru Bian joins PSB". [[Astro Awani]].
2. (30 May 2020). "It's official – Baru, See join PSB with over 20 former PKR leaders". [[Borneo Post]].
3. Philip Golingai. (16 March 2021). "How PKR won, then lost Sarawak: The Star columnist". [[The Straits Times]].
4. (16 December 2018). "Baru Bian kekal Pengerusi PKR Sarawak". Sarawak Voice.
5. (10 June 2020). "PKR Sarawak: Baru chose to leave party was not expelled". Dayak Daily.
6. Nigel Edgar. (11 March 2020). "I'm independent, Baru clarifies after ex-PKR MPs join Bersatu". [[The Borneo Post]].
7. Nazmi Suhaimi. (31 May 2020). "I'm an intelligent katak, says Baru". Sarawak Voice.
8. (3 July 2018). "Baru Bian creates history". [[The Borneo Post]].
9. (2 July 2008). "Baru Bian, the first Lun Bawang minister, fought hard for Sarawak natives' land rights". [[The Star (Malaysia).
10. "Curriculum vitae". barubian.net.
11. (29 July 2018). "A fighter with big dreams". [[The Star (Malaysia).
12. (2014). "Money Logging On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia". [[Bergli Books]].
13. (12 November 2016). "Baru Bian: Court of Appeal Decision a Letdown for converts out of Islam". Borneo Today.
14. "Wanita Melayu Diwakili Peguam Baru Bian Gagal Dalam Rayuan Kes Murtad". menara.my.
15. (11 February 2017). "Law is silent on Muslim converts wishing to leave Islam – Baru". [[The Borneo Post]].
16. (28 February 2018). "Baru Bian blasts death threats, insults over apostasy case". Free Malaysia Today.
17. (27 February 2018). "'Baru Bian hina umat Islam Sarawak'". [[Malaysiakini]].
18. (28 February 2018). "Baru Bian juara Kristianisasi Sarawak". [[Harakah Daily]].
19. (18 March 2021). "'Allah' issue still unsettled, no thanks to Muhyiddin, says Baru Bian". [[Free Malaysia Today]].
20. Sharon Ling. (11 March 2021). "High Court decision on 'Allah' use affirms religious freedom, rights under Constitution, says Baru Bian". [[The Star (Malaysia).
21. (29 April 2018). "NCR issues prompted me to stand in Selangau – Baru". [[The Borneo Post]].
22. (14 September 2013). "Dayak welfare was his priority". [[New Straits Times]].
23. "End of the road for PBDS". [[The Star (Malaysia).
24. Mohd Roji Kawi. (31 May 2020). "'Saya katak yang baik' - Baru Bian". [[Berita Harian]].
25. Abdul Rashid Moten. (1 April 2009). "2008 General Elections in Malaysia: Democracy at Work". Cambridge University Press.
26. (23 July 2015). "Baru Bian: Sarawakians want to see changes". Free Malaysia Today.
27. (9 March 2013). "Baru confirms standing in Limbang". The Borneo Post.
28. (7 March 2013). "Baru admits stunned by a huge margin". [[The Borneo Post]].
29. (31 May 2015). "Join BN, Baru Bian". The Borneo Post.
30. "Sarawak Polls: Baru Bian retains Ba'kelalan seat".
31. (10 May 2018). "Baru Bian secures maiden parliament win in Selangau". The Borneo Post.
32. (18 December 2021). "arawak State election: Baru Bian retains Ba'kelalan seat for third term". [[The Edge (Malaysia).
33. Wilfred Pilo. (18 December 2021). "Baru Bian wins first seat for PSB with majority of 680 votes". Dayak Daily.
34. (2021-12-18). "PRN Sarawak: Menang tipis, Ba'Kelalan kekal milik Baru Bian".
35. Joseph Masilamany. (19 June 2018). "Baru Bian's long haul from Long Luping". [[Malaysiakini]].