24 June 2010
By FMT Staff
KUCHING: A leader of PKR Sarawak, Dominique Ng, has slammed the state government for being autocratic in dealing with public properties.
Ng, who is Padungan state assemblyman, was commenting on the government's “flip-flop” over the privatisation of the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (Sesco).
He said that the State Legislative Assembly had approved the privatisation of Sesco in 2004 but in just five years, the Barisan Nasional government had a change of mind.
It offered and has bought back all the privately owned shares of Sarawak Energy Bhd. Notice was given on the website and in national dailies on Nov 30 and Dec1, 2009.
“From public to private-owned in 2004, then back to government-owned in 2009: a major state asset has been tossed about twice without prior public hearing or consultation," said Ng.
“The rakyat have been kept in the dark. The government’s arrogance in denying the public any say in governance and in major public policy matters shows that it is non-transparent.
“Without explanation to the public, the government has bought back all the privately-owned shares of Sarawak Energy in 2009,” he said.
Cash-rich asset
Ng pointed out that Sesco was a cash-rich asset of the Sarawak government.
“What is the state of Sesco/Sarawak Energy now, following the privatisation in 2004 and de-privatisation in 2009?” he asked.
“This has become a pattern of the autocratic behaviour of the BN government. Sell at its whim, buy back on a fancy, motivated by greed -- whether it is Sesco, native customary rights land or Kuching government land,” he added.
"The BN government owes an explanation to the people of Sarawak: it must make available all annual financial reports of Sesco/Sarawak Energy from 2004 to 2009 to the public for scrutiny."
He said that while consumers suffered, Sarawak Energy made substantial profit. In 2005, the pre-tax profit was RM95 million compared with RM75 million in 2004.
“The government handed Sesco to Sarawak Energy without the latter having to pay, but the government had to pay a high sum on the buy-back offer,” he said.
Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/sabah-and-sarawak/7224-autocratic-sarawak-govt-slammed-over-sesco-
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
The Kayapo Continue Blockades of Amazon Highway for the 28th Straight Day in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam
by International Rivers and Amazon Watch
For Immediate Release
May 21, 2010
Brazil's Indigenous Peoples Vow to Block Dam Construction or
"Die Fighting for our Rights"
Piaraçu, Xingu National Park, Brazil - A group of Kayapo indigenous people led by Chief Megaron Txukarramãe have been blockading the Xingu River crossing of the BR-80 - a major Amazon highway in Mato Grosso State - since April 23 in protest of the government's plans to build the massive Belo Monte Dam. Dozens of Kayapo warriors have been blocking the ferry crossing over the Xingu River for four weeks and are determined to remain there. Their actions have disrupted a major transportation artery for commercial goods in the region.In a statement issued from the blockade, Chief Megaron referred to President Lula as "enemy number one" to Brazil's indigenous peoples, and vowed to maintain the blockade until Belo Monte is canceled or "die fighting for our rights."
Chief Megaron has been joined in these protests by Kayapo Chief Raoni Metuktire, an emblematic leader for over 20 years of indigenous resistance to the Brazilian government's plans to dam the Xingu River. In a May 1st interview with the French channel TF1, Chief Raoni said "I have asked my warriors to prepare for war and I have spoken of this with other tribes from the Upper Xingu. We will not let them [build this dam]."
Leaders of the Arara, Xipaia and Juruna indigenous peoples of the Lower Xingu echo the vociferous opposition of the Kayapo to the Belo Monte Dam, and have also vowed to lay down their lives to stop the project, which would destroy their communities and livelihoods. "We are firm in this struggle, and continue more strong and determined than ever to stop Belo Monte," said the leader Sheyla Juruna. Attempts to stop the Belo Monte Dam became known around the world last month when filmmaker James Cameron and members of the cast of Avatar joined protests in Brasilia and visited villages on the Xingu River and its tributaries to hear about the plight of the region's indigenous people.
Slated to be the 3rd largest hydroelectric project in the world, Belo Monte would divert over 80 percent of the Xingu River's flow through artificial canals, flooding over 500 sq km of rainforest while drying out a 100 km stretch of the river known as the "Big Bend," which is home to hundreds of indigenous and riverine families. Though sold to the public as "clean energy," Belo Monte would generate an enormous amount of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Despite legal injunctions against the project's auction, the Brazilian government announced that the auction's winning consortium, "Norte Energia," would proceed with plans to dam the Xingu River. President Lula's insistence that the project move forward at all costs - in spite of serious social, environmental and financial concerns, as well as a massive local and international outcry - continues to be met with fierce denouncements from indigenous people of the Xingu Basin."The destruction that would be caused by the massive Belo Monte Dam in the globally essential Amazon Basin would have worldwide ramifications that can't yet be fully comprehended. Indigenous people are determined to disrupt the 'business as usual' model of destructive development projects that ruin the environment and their traditional ways of life," said Atossa Soltani of Amazon Watch. "Indigenous groups from the Xingu Basin have sent the Brazilian government a clear and resounding message that they will not allow the Belo Monte Dam to move forward. A Brazilian and international coalition of organizations and social movements stands in solidarity with these groups, and is mobilizing further social and legal actions."
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Last of Bakun villagers moving out
Tuesday, 01 June 2010 13:18
KUCHING – The last of the villagers in the way of the Bakun hydroelectric dam project have decided to move out.
The 35 families have agreed to be resettled, with the state promising to compensate them and provide new farmland for cultivation.
They would move to “higher grounds’’ above the dam site, said State Land Development Minister Dr James Masing, adding that they would have to relocate by this year "or they would be drowned" when the dam reservoir in the upper Rejang River basin is flooded.
Mass movement
Dr Masing, chairman of the Bakun resettlement committee, before it was disbanded after more than 10,000 villagers were relocated to Sungai Asap resettlement scheme about a decade ago, said in The Star report that the government would compensate the 35 families if they had land and crops in the dam area.
Sarawak Hiro Sdn Bhd, which owns the 2,400MW dam, has sought the approval of the state to flood the reservoir, which was originally slated for last November.
It had said that the impounding was expected to take eight months for the water level at the reservoir to reach the minimum operating level for tests of the turbine to be carried out.
Reservoir the size of Singapore
Once impounded, the reservoir, spanning over Batang Balui, Sungai Murum, Sungai Bahau, Sungai Pelepeh and Sungai Lanau, will have a surface area of 695km - about the size of Singapore - when the water level reaches the maximium operating level at 228m, giving a depth of 194m.
The dam is now expected to generate power sometime next year instead of late this year as earlier planned.
The Bakun dam will supply power for use of the energy-intensive industries, like aluminium smelters, to be set up in the Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu.
Source:http://www.malaysianmirror.com/sabahsarawakdetail/12-sabahsarawak/41556-last-of-bakun-villagers-moving-out
KUCHING – The last of the villagers in the way of the Bakun hydroelectric dam project have decided to move out.
The 35 families have agreed to be resettled, with the state promising to compensate them and provide new farmland for cultivation.
They would move to “higher grounds’’ above the dam site, said State Land Development Minister Dr James Masing, adding that they would have to relocate by this year "or they would be drowned" when the dam reservoir in the upper Rejang River basin is flooded.
Mass movement
Dr Masing, chairman of the Bakun resettlement committee, before it was disbanded after more than 10,000 villagers were relocated to Sungai Asap resettlement scheme about a decade ago, said in The Star report that the government would compensate the 35 families if they had land and crops in the dam area.
Sarawak Hiro Sdn Bhd, which owns the 2,400MW dam, has sought the approval of the state to flood the reservoir, which was originally slated for last November.
It had said that the impounding was expected to take eight months for the water level at the reservoir to reach the minimum operating level for tests of the turbine to be carried out.
Reservoir the size of Singapore
Once impounded, the reservoir, spanning over Batang Balui, Sungai Murum, Sungai Bahau, Sungai Pelepeh and Sungai Lanau, will have a surface area of 695km - about the size of Singapore - when the water level reaches the maximium operating level at 228m, giving a depth of 194m.
The dam is now expected to generate power sometime next year instead of late this year as earlier planned.
The Bakun dam will supply power for use of the energy-intensive industries, like aluminium smelters, to be set up in the Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu.
Source:http://www.malaysianmirror.com/sabahsarawakdetail/12-sabahsarawak/41556-last-of-bakun-villagers-moving-out
Cahya Mata Sarawak benefits from rollout of SCORE projects
June 5, 2010, Saturday
KUCHING: Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS) revealed that its construction materials and manufacturing divisions continued to do well, compensating for the weakness faced in other divisions as core net profit reversed from a loss in the first quarter of the financial year 2009 (1QFY09) to RM12.1 million in the first quarter of 2010.A research report released by CIMB Investment Bank Bhd (CIMB Investment) recently noted that its revenue eased by one per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) as an 88 per cent slump in construction revenue wiped out the 15 to 18 per cent y-o-y increase in revenue from the manufacturing and construction material divisions.
The research report highlighted that CMS’ other divisions saw marginal declines in their toplines as group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin expanded from 11 per cent in
1QFY09 to 13 per cent this period, driven by a five percentage point uptick in construction materials EBIT margin to 15 per cent.
EBIT margin for other profitable divisions such as manufacturing and construction, added the research firm, was between six per cent and 21 per cent.
CIMB Investment stated that the construction outlook under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) was likely to pick up pace as various projects were likely to be rolled out in the medium term.
There was also a change in the research house’s valuation basis from 20 per cent discount to a 10 per cent. This lower discount, it added, reflected the improved construction sector outlook even though there was still no clarity on the progress of its aluminium smelter project in SCORE.
The research house indicated that the rollout of projects under SCORE was likely to gain momentum in the medium term, which could be one of the key features under the 10th Malaysian Plan. (10MP).
Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=34675
KUCHING: Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS) revealed that its construction materials and manufacturing divisions continued to do well, compensating for the weakness faced in other divisions as core net profit reversed from a loss in the first quarter of the financial year 2009 (1QFY09) to RM12.1 million in the first quarter of 2010.A research report released by CIMB Investment Bank Bhd (CIMB Investment) recently noted that its revenue eased by one per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) as an 88 per cent slump in construction revenue wiped out the 15 to 18 per cent y-o-y increase in revenue from the manufacturing and construction material divisions.
The research report highlighted that CMS’ other divisions saw marginal declines in their toplines as group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin expanded from 11 per cent in
1QFY09 to 13 per cent this period, driven by a five percentage point uptick in construction materials EBIT margin to 15 per cent.
EBIT margin for other profitable divisions such as manufacturing and construction, added the research firm, was between six per cent and 21 per cent.
CIMB Investment stated that the construction outlook under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) was likely to pick up pace as various projects were likely to be rolled out in the medium term.
There was also a change in the research house’s valuation basis from 20 per cent discount to a 10 per cent. This lower discount, it added, reflected the improved construction sector outlook even though there was still no clarity on the progress of its aluminium smelter project in SCORE.
The research house indicated that the rollout of projects under SCORE was likely to gain momentum in the medium term, which could be one of the key features under the 10th Malaysian Plan. (10MP).
Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=34675
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