Miri: Sarawak Conservation Alliance for Natural Environment (SCANE) condemns both the Federal government of Malaysia and the Sarawak State government action for permitting the Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd to proceed with its water impoundment for Bakun Hydroelectric dam without having any Emergency Rescue Plan (ERP) to encounter any eventualities of environmental disasters due to dam failure.
SCANE has been informed that Sarawak Hidro will start with the water impoundment for the dam as early as from today onward. On Monday, a tragedy happened at the dam site where a long boat was capsized and a man has been reported still missing.
Once again, SCANE warns the Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd not to start but stop immediately the act of impounding water for Bakun dam by having failure of coming up with any Emergency Rescue Plan (ERP) that guarantees the safety of the communities living downstream of the dam. The government (s) and the Sarawak Hidro should not too hastily to close the river diversion tunnels to impound water for the dam until the ERP have been drawn and the public at large are well informed of the plan and that all precautionary measures are ready in place and operational.
Prior to the water impoundment for the dam, the communities downstream and public at large should be adequately and extensive informed of the adverse impacts of the dam as erecting of monstrous project like Bakun dam could entail consequences, some of which might not have been foreseen. SCANE fears that the impoundment of the dam may cause environmental disorders that would eventually trigger earthquakes, landslides and floods.
SCANE condemns the hasty act of dam impoundment and calls upon the Government and Sarawak Hidro to put in place the security and emergency plan prior to the water impoundment process for Bakun dam rather than just totally overlooked these matters and simply gambles with nature, human safety and security aspects of the dam.
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