By: Joseph Tawie
KUCHING: The RM315 million Bengoh Dam is coming up, but standing in its way are the Bidayuhs who will not shift out to make way. They are not against development. They simply want justice – fair compensation. But it appears they will not be getting it and they are very angry.
Former Dayak Bidayuh National Association president, Peter Minos, said the Bengoh agencies are inconsiderate for ignoring the plight of the Bidayuhs from four villages which are affected by the construction of the dam.
Some 1,000 Bidayuhs from 394 families are to be relocated elsewhere.
“If the relevant dam agencies give the four villages the right compensation for the abandoned land – houses, basic facilities and utilities and job opportunities – then the affected Bidayuhs will not pose a problem at all.
“But if they are not given proper compensation, they will naturally act as they do,” said Minos, who is a senior leader of Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu.
“Treat the Bidayuhs well, talk to them, meet them and reason things out. They can and will be good partners in development...
“The problem is that some people are not really interested to meet and talk with the villagers... they just want to impose and dictate terms...
“We hope the Bidayuh leaders will help the villagers sort things out with the relevant agencies,” Minos said.
Minos was commenting on a news report that the Bidayuhs from Kampung Taba Sait are reluctant to move to a new site despite the offer of a free house and a plot of land for each family to farm.
But they are not satisfied with the compensation. What they want are new houses built on a higher ground of what was left of their native customary right land.
According to the villagers, the compensation was insufficient given that the whole village is to be submerged under water.
The three-acre of land is not enough for them to farm and they are not allowed to rear livestock.
At first, the authorities promised to give them infrastructure like access roads, electricity and they were allowed to keep their NCR land for farming.
But according to the villagers, the promises are not going to be fulfilled, and they feel they have been cheated.
Besides Kampung Taba Sait, other villages affected are Kampung Bojong Pain, Kampung Rejoi and Kampung Semban.
Work on the dam started in August 2008 across Sungai Sarawak Kiri and is expected to be completed by year-end.
It is expected to submerge about 8.72 square km of land, the size of 173 Olympic swimming pools, destroying some rare wildlife species such as the fern family of lycopodium and two carnivorous pitcher plants from the nepenthes family.
Other wildlife found there include two species of hornbill, 50 species of birds, seven species of bats, 14 species of mammals and 52 species of fish.
Awarded to Naim Cendera, a company closely associated with the family of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, the dam, once completed, is expected to store some 144.1 million cubic metres of water meant for the Batu Kitang water treatment plant.
The storage will increase water production at Batu Kitang plant from 786 to 2047 mega litres per day (MLD).
The current demand for water in Kuching is 635 MLD.
Non-governmental organisations and opposition parties have condemned the government for constructing the dam.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
URL: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/sabah-and-sarawak/9607-angry-bidayuhs-wont-budge-from-bengoh-dam-area-
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