WHAT HAPPENED TO BRUNO MANSER?

This is Bruno Manser - Swiss-born activist known as "Laki Penan" - in Sarawak in the 1980s. What happened to him is still one of Borneo's great mysteries.

The known facts

• 1984-1990: Manser lived with the Eastern Penan near the headwaters of the Limbang river, near Long Seridan. He learned their language, lived in a loincloth, hunted with a blowpipe, and documented Penan culture in 10,000 photos and notebooks.
• After 1990 he became Malaysia's most wanted environmental activist, organizing blockades against logging companies like Rimbunan Hijau, Samling and WTK Group. The Malaysian government declared him "persona non grata", with a reported bounty of US$30,000 to $50,000 for his capture.
• Last trip in 2000: On 15 February 2000 he left Switzerland to visit his Penan friends via Kalimantan, with Bruno Manser Fonds secretary John Kuenzli and a film crew. They later left him in the jungle.

He crossed the Sarawak/Kalimantan border around 22 May 2000 with a local guide. His last known communication was a letter mailed to his girlfriend Charlotte from Bario - he said he was very tired, had diarrhoea and a broken rib.

Last sighting: 25 May 2000 at Bukit Batu Lawi in Sarawak, Malaysia. He was carrying a 30kg backpack and was with his Penan friend Paleu and Paleu's son. They left him at the foot of the twin peaks because he wanted to climb Batu Lawi alone.

The search

Penan teams followed his machete cuts into thick forest until the trail reached the swamp at the foot of Batu Lawi. There was no trace of him in the swamp, going back from the swamp, or of anyone else entering the area. BMF sent a helicopter to circle the limestone pinnacles, but no team was willing to scale the last 100 meters of steep limestone.

Two later expeditions, including one led by his brother, failed. In desperation even Penan necromancers were consulted.

After 18 months without trace, the family and the Bruno Manser Fund concluded he likely perished. On 18 November 2000 BMF asked the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs to open an official search.

A civil court in Basel-Stadt declared him legally dead on 10 March 2005. He is listed as "Missing for 26 years... Legally dead on 10 March 2005.

What is thought to have happened?

There is no body, no belongings, no confirmed cause - so there are only three theories that investigators still mention:

1. Accident on Batu Lawi. The most widely accepted. Batu Lawi is a razor-sharp limestone tower in the Kelabit Highlands. It is possible that Manser fell down the side of the mountain, but neither his body nor his belongings have been found. The swamp and dense jungle at its base could have hidden everything.
2. Foul play. Because of his long conflict with logging interests and the bounty on his head, some Penan and activists suspected murder. No evidence has ever been produced, and Malaysian police never opened a homicide case. The official classification remains a disappearance in remote wilderness.
3. Voluntary disappearance. This was briefly suggested by Malaysian officials in the early 2000s, but his family, his girlfriend's letter from Bario, and the fact he left all his notes behind make it considered unlikely by researchers.

The Penan themselves do not use his name anymore - speaking names of the dead is taboo. They call him "Laki Tawang" (man who has become lost) or "Laki e'h metat" (man who has disappeared).

His legacy lives on through the Bruno Manser Fonds in Basel, which continues to campaign for Sarawak's forests, and through the 2019 Swiss film "Paradise War - The Story of Bruno Manser".

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

6/9/2026: 12.11 a.m