MIRI: The indigenous Kelabits of Long Seridan have at least four major events at the end of the year, including the famous Kelabit naming ceremony.
Their only problem is the only road leading to the longhouse has been cut off by a timber company operating in the area.
According to the son in-law of the community leader Penghulu Usop Raja, Tabari Maria the timber company cut off the road near their timber camp at Layun last April.
The cut-off point where the road becomes impassable is only 1 hour from the longhouse but from Miri the journey is about 7 hours.
"They deliberately cut off the road to make it impossible for vehicles to pass through. They alleged that the local people steal diesel from the camp which is unsubstantiated. How can they punish the whole community just based on mere suspicion that the local people are stealing from the camp? It could be done by anybody," said Tabari.
"We are appealing to the timber camp to repair the road for the sake of our people who are looking forward to go back at the end of the year to attend several major events taking place in the longhouse," said Tabari.