Dayak Lawyer Erika Siluq: “We Reject the Corporate Seizure of Ancestral Land”

Erika Siluq: “We Reject the Corporate Seizure of Ancestral Land”. Doc. ES.

Dayak lawyer and indigenous rights activist Erika Siluq has strongly opposed the government’s plan to grant a land use permit (HGU) to palm oil company PT Borneo Damai Lestari Raya. 

The land in question is the ancestral territory of the Dayak people in Intu Lingau village, Nyuatn District; land they have sustainably managed and lived on for generations.

“Today, the Dayak are legally aware and literate. They are educated. Our intellectuals must stand beside our people, advocating for their rights over inherited land in Borneo, so it won’t be arbitrarily seized by corporate powers,” Siluq stated.

Intu Lingau Villagers Reject Land Grab

In a bold public demonstration, the villagers of Intu Lingau gathered at the village field, holding a large banner expressing their refusal to hand over their land. According to customary leaders, the land is sacred and integral to their survival —not some idle property up for grabs.

“We reject this! This is our land —not the company’s!” declared one village elder during the protest.

The community claims the land use permit was pursued without their free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) —a violation of international standards protecting indigenous rights. The FPIC principle ensures communities are consulted before any development affecting their land and livelihoods.

Legal Advocacy and Indigenous Literacy: Knowledge is Power

Erika Siluq and her legal team are on the ground providing both legal representation and rights-based literacy education to the villagers. Their goal: to empower communities with the knowledge and tools to defend their ancestral land in court and in public.

“The cruelty and arrogance of corporations toward local communities—and the oligarchic system that robs and drains Borneo’s natural resources—must end,” Siluq said firmly.

She emphasized the importance of grassroots organizing, village-level consolidation, and cross-regional alliances among indigenous groups to protect customary land rights and preserve just living spaces.

Informed Consent Ignored, State Protection Lacking

In many cases, communities like Intu Lingau are left in the dark during the land permit process. Their voices are excluded from development policies, and government protections are often weak or absent when it comes to indigenous land rights.

The protest in Intu Lingau has become a symbol of indigenous resistance to an extractive development model that prioritizes corporate profit over ecological balance and indigenous sovereignty. Similar actions are spreading across Kalimantan, fueled by growing awareness and legal empowerment.

These local movements are becoming a moral and legal force demanding ecological justice, ancestral land protection, and an end to reckless corporate expansion in Borneo.

-- Rangkaya Bada