Baram Dam protests escalate, assemblyman asks for cooling off period

BY STEPHEN THEN

Workers with their packed bags waiting to leave in boats after they were prevented from entering the dam site by protesting natives.

MIRI: A Barisan Nasional politician wants a temporary halt to ground testing and survey works at the proposed Baram hydro-electric dam site in interior northern Sarawak due to escalating protests and blockades staged by the natives.

Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau, who is Barisan Youth chief for Baram, told The Star Online the situation is "very hot" on the ground with the protesting natives showing unrelenting aggression. He is worried the situation will boil over into a physical confrontation.

Ngau wants a cooling period while he and other local Barisan politicians find a way out of this latest dispute that has threatened to turn into a serious political and social issue.

"Stop all ground works for the time being until further notice. Don't confront the protesters. Leave it to us politicians to find a solution," Ngau advised workers and contractors who are carrying out rock drilling between Long Naah and Long Kesseh some 200kms inland from Miri City.

Ngau said he has advised workers of Sarawak Energy Bhd and officials from the state Land and Survey Department to stay away from the site for now.

"These workers have left the area. They were advised not to confront the protesting natives.

"I have asked the community leaders in Long Naah and Long Kesseh and surrounding villages to cool down the protesters.

"The best thing now for all parties is for a cooling period to set in. The workers should not attempt to force their way past the protesters.

"The protesters are very aggressive and I am worried if there is physical confrontation.

"I and Baram MP Anyi Ngau are trying to arrange for an urgent meeting with all the relevant people, including the community leaders, to find a way out of this.

"I hope to get in touch with all of the native leaders within the next few days and get them to come down to Miri City where we can discuss things in a rational and calm manner.

"I would like to go into ulu Baram and meet the protesters if possible, but indications are that they will not listen and will not negotiate.

"For now, I think it is best to stay away until they have cooled down," he said of the latest situation in ulu Baram.

Environmental groups, Save Sarawak Rivers and Baram People's Action Committee, told The Star that the protesting natives who have set up blockades in Long Kesseh and the main road leading to the dam site, are reinforcing their barricades and blocking every roads to the dam site.

Save Sarawak Rivers' chairman Peter Kallang said another blockade at Long Lama was also being set up.

"No construction materials and equipment or vehicles are allowed to enter. At the dam site, the protesters are expelling every worker they find.

"Some of the workers and surveyors who were chased away tried to come back to the area, but were stopped at the blockades," he said.

Baram People's Action Committee chairman Philip Jau said the natives, numbering more than a hundred at each of the blockade sites, were made up of villagers, both women and men.

"We are staying day and night and manning the blockades 24 hour non-stop. We will camp out at the blockade sites for as long as needed," he said, adding that there is no other option for the natives but to make sure that they stop every ground work before the dam construction starts.

The proposed Baram Dam is one of 11 new dams that are being planned by the state government throughout Sarawak.

The Baram Dam will uproot at least 20,000 natives from the Kenyahs, Kayans and Penans ethnic groups.

Kallang, Jau and several human rights lawyers and environmental activists had written an appeal to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, asking the world body to stop the dam from being built.

Disaster looming over Bakun

Joseph Tawie | August 25, 2011

KUCHING: An impending disaster is looming over Bakun Dam following the state government’s failure to implement the recommendations detailed in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, according to environmentalist Dr Ellie Luhat.

Luhat, who is the chairman of Bakun Community Safety Committee (BCSC), warned that disaster would strike the area in the next three to five years.

“There was a study of the EIA reports where recommendations were made. But somehow when the implementation was done, these recommendations were forgotten.

“One of the recommendations was that we get rid of as much as possible the biomass – the trees, branches, twigs, scrubs, and plants – before the dam is to be impounded.

“But they failed to get rid of all these.

“Over the years, these trees, branches and twigs will get rotten and become very toxic to the water and fish.

“According to the EIA reports, if they are not removed, such toxic can cause environmental disaster in three to five years’ time,” he told FMT.

The RM7.2billion Bakun Dam has come under severe criticism over its shoddy construction, safety, displacement of the indigenous communities, health hazards and its impact on the environment

Deaths and isolation

Earlier this week, it was reported that some 30,000 residents in the Kapit, Belaga and Nanga Merit upriver areas were cut off from the rest of the world because the voluminous Rajang River had depleted following the impoundment of the Bakun Dam.

The current dry spell and the channelling of the Rajang water to the Bakun Dam were blamed for the situation.

State Land Development Minister James Masing in an immediate reaction said he anticipated the situation to worsen.

His pessimism was further confirmed when the management of Bakun hydro-electric dam reportedly said that the water is expected to be released through the spillways in October.

Said Luhat: “We have to anticipate this (disaster) will occur… there were signs but no one is observing all these things.”

“The EIA recommendations must be implemented,” he said.

Early this month, some 10 people working in the Bakun area had reportedly died of mysterious ailments.

But state health director Dr Zulkifli Jantan quashed speculations of mysterious diseases and “curses from angry spirits” in the Bakun area when he confirmed that some of the deaths were due to “melioidosis” and “leptospirosis” diseases.

(Leptospirosis is present in rat urine while melioidosis is a water-and-earth-borne bacteria. The symptoms of the former include dry cough, fever, headache, diarrhoea and vomiting. Symptoms of the latter include pain in chest, bones, or joints and skin infections.)

Luhat, who had brought the deaths to light, said: “Now the cause has been confirmed. I believe what has been revealed by the director is only the tip of the iceberg.”

Dry spell hits Bakun area

Tuesday August 23, 2011

By STEPHEN THEN
stephenthen@thestar.com.my

MIRI: The water in the Bakun hydroelectric dam reservoir has not risen to the level that was initially predicted because the area has been hit by a dry spell.

Managing director of Sarawak Hidro, which manages the dam, and chief engineer Zulkifle Osman told The Star yesterday that it had been an uncharacteristically dry month.

“The rainfall for the whole month was not what we had expected. We expected more rain, but since the start of August, we have been badly hit by a dry spell. On Aug 20, only one millimetre (mm) of rain fell throughout Bakun region,” he said.
Too little rain: Water released from a diversion tunnel of the dam in this file pic.

“The day before, only 4.5mm rainfall was recorded. On Aug 16, there was 41mm (4.1cm) of rain. For the rest of August, there was zero rain. The rainfall combined on the three days when it rained was very little as compared to the normal rainfall.

“And spread over such a huge reservoir, the three days of rain did not make any difference at all to the water level. That is why there was hardly any difference to the water intake for the turbines.

“The amount of water we could release from the Bakun Dam into the downstream area was only limited to the amount of water coming out from the lone turbine that is in operation now.

“There is no water coming down the spillway because we cannot reach that level yet. Only once we have reached the 214-metre level at the Bakun reservoir can the water flow down the spillway into the Rajang River and downwards to Belaga, Kapit and Sibu.

“The current water level at the reservoir is 207m and it has not changed because of the lack of rain.”

Zulkifle said that if the reservoir kept receiving zero rainfall or little rain, there was no way the water level downstream of the dam could rise.

On whether this dry spell was foreseen, he said it was unpredicted.

On whether the stagnant level had affected the functioning of the turbine generator, he said that had not been the case because the water could still flow down into the power generation house.

As long as the water could flow down, the electricity-generation process could go on, he said.

Zulkifle, when asked whether cloud-seeding could be carried out over Bakun, said the idea had not yet been discussed with the authorities.

On the amount of rain forecast over Bakun for the next few days, he said the weather would still be dry.

On the river transportation woes downstream of Bakun, he said the Kapit and Belaga local authorities had not informed him that those woes were directly caused by the dry spell in Bakun.

He said the low river levels downstream of Bakun might be a result of a combination of dry spells in other parts of central Sarawak, not just because of the lack of water coming down from the Bakun Dam.

The dry spell over Bakun and central Sarawak is rather strange because in northern Sarawak, especially Miri, there was occasional moderate to heavy rain during the past week.

Bakun Dam saga enters next chapter

20 April 2011

Behind The News - Yap Leng Kuen

Should project be viewed as a business deal or part of state development?

THE protracted story of the Bakun Hydroelectric Dam project, instead of ending soon, may be just going into its next chapter.

The latest saga in the tariff pricing disagreement between Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd, owner and developer of the dam, and Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB), the offtaker and state utility board, is entering its fourth scenario.

The first round of talks just after the completion of the dam looked at its possible sale or lease; subsequently, Sarawak expressed its intention to buy over the dam.

News surfaced recently that the sale of Bakun was off and that it would be operated on a joint-venture basis.

The latest is that SEB has proposed to buy a 30% stake in the project.

The power negotiations too have undergone three changes from earlier suggestions of flat to escalating tariffs. Currently, the offer is for a starting tariff of six sen per KwH.

In February this year, SEB had indicated it was willing to pay six sen per kwh but Sarawak Hidro said it needed a flat rate of 9.5 sen per kwh on a 30-year concession.

On an escalating basis, SEB had offered 5.4 sen per kwh at 1.5% per annum (inclusive of a one sen water tariff to the state); Sarawak Hidro had countered with 6.75 sen per kwh, also at 1.5% per annum.

The power purchase agreement (PPA) negotiations went on a rocky path last month with different instructions from the state and federal governments. Early last month, the PPA talks were ordered off by the state and later in the same month, the federal government expressed the desire for the PPA to be concluded as soon as possible.

The question here is whether the Bakun Dam project should be viewed as a purely business deal or part of the socio-economic development of Sarawak?

As a business deal, the Government should make every effort to recover its investments.

If it wants to play its developmental role, it may consider taking a hit and absorbing some losses while helping Sarawak to achieve its industrial goals.

Under the study conducted by PwC, it is believed that the Bakun project is valued at between RM8bil and RM10bil; however, Sarawak's latest tariff offer of six sen per kwh values it at only RM6bil.

In contrast, coal-fired tariffs cost 28 sen per kwh.

Some ask if giving a hefty discount is justified, as more expensive dams are coming up. They say it is not fair that power from Bakun has to be sold cheaply to subsidise the construction of these additional dams.

Others want to know why the cost of transmission via the new grid system is much higher, at over four sen per kwh compared with the cost of only one sen in the peninsula.

Sarawak has said it needs 6.000MW-7,000MW of power by 2020. Bakun has a capacity for 2,400MW and Murum is able to produce 944MW.

Others still pose questions on why polluting industries should take advantage of the cheap, clean power from Bakun.

These heavy industries located in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) have rebutted that they use advanced technology that do not pose a threat to the environment.

Scare tactics have been used which speculated on the possibility that the Bakun Dam project could end up being a white elephant if industries were not attracted to soak up the power at competitive rates.

Looking at the power requirements of Peninsular Malaysia beyond 2015, this power from Bakun may be transmitted back to the peninsula. Is it worth it to revive the idea of building the undersea transmission line especially in the wake of the nuclear scare and the limit on Malaysia's carbon footprint under the now expired Kyoto Protocol?

Already the pressure is on to conclude the tariff negotiations. Sarawak has signed non-binding agreements with four companies to supply power. Their plants are at the preliminary stages of planning and construction.

Source: The Star Online

URL: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/20/business/8516081&sec=business

River travel along Rajang expected to return to normal by next month

2 May 2011

By STEPHEN THEN
stephenthen@thestar.com.my

MIRI: River travel for more than 30,000 residents living along the country’s longest river — the Rajang River in central Sarawak — is expected to return to normal by next month.

The water level is expected to start rising to its normal height again next month once the water from the Bakun Dam reservoir starts to flow into the Rajang after the impoundment of the dam is completed.

Belaga assemblyman Liwan Lagang told The Star yesterday that the river transportation woes that started in early October last year was expected to be over by June, after nine months of disruption.

“By next month, the flooding of the entire Bakun Dam reservoir is expected to be completed. The water from the dam will then flow down into the Rajang River (after passing through the power generation turbines) and this will raise the river level along the downstream stretch from Bakun to Belaga down and on to Sibu,” he said when asked yesterday on the latest development in the Bakun Dam downstream area.

Difficult to move: Villagers walking on the exposed banks after the Bakun Dam’s impoundment which caused the upper reaches of the Rajang River in Belaga District to become shallow and dangerous in some parts in this file pic.

“Travellers using boats, including the big express boats, will then be able to navigate to the upper reaches of the Rajang River, as well as the Belaga and Balui rivers again,” he said, adding, “There should be no more interruptions to river travel, even during the coming dry season.”

Last October 14, the Balui River, which fed the Rajang River, was dammed up to enable the Bakun Dam reservoir to be flooded.

The dam reservoir has to be flooded to at least 195 metres high in order for the water to be able to run down the water inlet to generate the eight power-generation turbines to churn out 2,400 MWs of electricity.

After the impoundment of the Bakun Dam started, two major environmental disasters hit the Rajang River — a massive logjam stretching 50km that swept thousands of logs into the Sibu rivermouth and then the entire river experienced a drop in water-level, resulting in some stretches drying up completely.

The logjam was cleared after about a week, but the river transportation to the upper reaches of the Rajang, Balui and Belaga rivers continued to remain problematic until now.

In some parts of the river, the volume had dropped by up to six metres.

The Balui and Belaga rivers confluence into the Rajang River and then flow 400km passing through Belaga town, Song Bazaar, Kapit town and then Sibu town before reaching the South China Sea.

Liwan yesterday said the information he gathered from the Bakun Dam site was that the water volume to be released downstream of the main dam wall would drastically increase and would be in time to mitigate the effect of coming dry season on the water level in the Rajang River.

“In fact, the water level is already rising because the amount of water flowing down from the diversion tunnel outlet is quite heavy since there is already a lot of water in the Bakun reservoir behind the main dam wall.

“For passengers using small longboats, they can reach up to Punan Bah settlement already.

“Once the Rajang River volume increases more, big speedboats and cargo tugboats will be able to go up into the deep interior as well,” he said.

Asked about the land linkage problem faced by more than 1,000 Penans in the Lusong Laku settlement deep in the interior near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border after a rickety bridge built by a timber company was washed away by floods last February, he said the Federal Government was to build a Bailey bridge there soon.

“The army was supposed to build the Bailey bridge. Last month, they were supposed to go in and get things done, but had to postpone their task because of the state elections.

“They are going in soon, but I have not been told of any deadline for them to complete the bridge.”

Source: The Star Online

URL: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?sec=sarawak&file=/2011/5/2/sarawak/8590984

Bakun hydro project to be joint venture

By JACK WONG
jackwong@thestar.com.my

13 April 2011

KUCHING: The Bakun hydro dam, which is expected to produce its first 300MW in three months, will become a joint venture between the Federal and Sarawak governments, said Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.

He did not, however, reveal what would be Sarawak government's stake in the dam, which could produce up to 2,400MW when fully operational.

The dam is now owned by the Federal Government through Finance Minister Inc.

The Sarawak government has offered to take over the dam's ownership for RM7bil after the Federal Government agreed to sell it last year as the plan to transmit the electricity to the peninsula via underwater submarine cables was scrapped.

From left: Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, Tokuyama vice-president Toshiki Nakamura, Press Metal chairman Datuk Paul Koon, State Planning Unit director Datuk Ismawi Ismuni and State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohammad Morshidi Abdul Ghani after the signing.

“The Prime Minister has assured me and the state government that all the Bakun power will be given to industries in Sarawak,'' Taib said at the signing of power purchase agreement (PPA) term sheet between state-owned Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) and four major investors in energy-intensive industries in Samalaju Industrial Park in Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) here yesterday.

The four investors were Press Metal Bhd, Japan's Tokuyama Corp, Hong Kong-based Asia Minerals Ltd and Singapore's OM Materials, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Press Metal will set up a new aluminium smelter while Asia Minerals and OM Materials will each invest in a manganese smelter. Tokuyama's plant will produce polycrystalline silicon for solar panels.

Taib said the 944MW Murum dam project, now under development by SEB, would be operational in 2014, and that more dams would be built.

“For the (proposed) Baram and Pelagus dam projects, all the technical studies have been done. The Baram dam project will be a joint venture with Brunei.

“We (Sarawak) will have 6,000MW to 7,000MW (hydro power) by 2020,” he added.

The proposed Baram dam in northern Sarawak is expected to generate about 1,000MW while the Pelagus dam in the upper reaches of the Rejang River basin, where the Bakun and Murum dams are located, will generate about 900MW.

SEB, which has plans to develop several smaller dams, will export electricity to Brunei and Sabah.

Taib said the state had some 500,000 coal resources which could be exploited to produce electricity.

Source: The Star Online

URL: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?sec=business&file=/2011/4/13/business/8468803

Tariff deal to materialise soon for S’wak Hidro, S’wak Energy

4 May 2011

KUCHING: Recent news flow on the power tariff negotiations between Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd (Sarawak Hidro) and Sarawak Energy Bhd (Sarawak Energy) has been positive – implying that a deal could be on the cards soon.

According to a report, a power purchase agreement (PPA) between both parties would likely be signed in two months.

Both federal and state governments were believed to have reached a pact on tariffs for power off-take from the Bakun damn earlier last week.

It was likely to be between Sarawak Energy’s starting rates of six sen per kilowatt hour (KwH) and seven sen per KwH as requested by Sarawak Hidro, the owner and developer of Bakun dam. By extension, this would place the valuation of the RM7.5 billion Bakun dam to be somewhere between RM6 billion and RM8 billion.

At seven sen per KwH, Sarawak Hidro’s valuation was in line with the findings of a recent study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers – which valued Bakun at between RM8 billion and RM10 billion.

It was also reported last month that Sarawak Energy had proposed to take up a 30 per cent stake in the Bakun project for RM1.3 billion, RM700 million of which would likely be via equity injection and the balance RM650 million coming from shareholders’ loan. By extension, this implied a valuation of RM6 billion based on a Sarawak Energy’s offer of six sen per KwH.

Furthermore, AmResearch Sdn Bhd (AmResearch) gathered the 2,400 megawatt (MW)-Bakun dam was ready to supply its first 300MW of power by July.

“Sarawak Energy has moved quickly to sign PPA term sheets with four companies – Press Metal Bhd (Press Metal), OM Materials, Asia Minerals Ltd and Tokuyama Corp. These first batches of companies are expected to consume a combined 1,300MW for their respective plants, to be located at Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu.

“This was quickly followed by an agreement between Gulf International Investment Group Holdings Sdn Bhd and Aluminium Corp of China to set up an US$1.5 billion aluminium smelter in Similajau. The smelter is expected to take up 600MW of power initially based on a production capacity of 370,000 tonnes,” stated AmResearch in its sectoral update report.

The research house’s ground checks indicated that Sarawak Aluminium Smelting Sdn Bhd – a joint-venture between Rio Tinto Alcan and the Cahya Mata Sarawak group – could be a third player to set up an aluminium smelter in Similajau.

“The smelter is expected to consume between 900MW and 1,200MW of power against an annual capacity of up to 720,000 tonnes,” said AmResearch.

The research house continued to favour Press Metal as an early beneficiary of crystallisation of long-term power supply with Sarawak Energy. To be sure, the group is currently the only direct play on the commissioning of Bakun dam.

AmResearch pointed out that Press Metal’s recent capital raising manoeuvres positioned the group to embark on Phase Two of its expansion programme that could potentially triple capacity to 360,000 tonnes by end-2012.

Source: Borneo Post Online

URL: http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=127687

Bakun: Empty promises, damned lives

COMMENT Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's visit to the Bakun area on Jan 15 was trumpeted as a gracious offer of largesse to the displaced peoples from the Bakun area who have been resettled at Sungai Asap since 1999.

He promised a RM62 million road linking Belaga and Bakun; a RM46 million clinic, and has “agreed in principle” to write off the remaining housing loans of about RM41 million owed by some 1,500 families who were displaced by the Bakun dam. Can this offset the “ethnocide” of the displaced Bakun indigenous peoples, the “damned lives” at the Sungai Asap Resettlement Scheme?

More than 10,000 indigenous natives from at least 15 different ethnic communities had to give up their ancestral homes and preferred environment at a time when the dam had been suspended during the financial crisis at the end of the 90s. Among these groups of indigenous peoples displaced are the Ukits, who are the only ethnic community of its kind in the world with their distinct language and culture. Theirs is now an endangered culture.

I was amazed to read that Najib was “the first prime minister to set foot in Belaga town”! That means that the prime minister most responsible for this monstrous project, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had never set foot in Belaga despite the long drawn-out saga of this accursed dam during his reign!

Now, even when I was a young lecturer at NUS, I managed to visit Belaga in 1978. And soon after the resettlement of the displaced peoples, I again visited the area with the other members of the fact-finding mission in 1999.

Yet no Malaysian prime minister had bothered to see for themselves this part of Malaysia where more than 15 different ethnic communities lived in some of the most beautiful forest environments of Malaysia and where the biggest dam in SEAsia was to be built to displace these indigenous peoples!

The only word that sprang to mind when we observed the state and morale of the displaced people and their shocking “new” living environment was ETHNOCIDE. That was just six months after the resettlement.

“Ethnocide may be defined as the process whereby a culturally distinct people loses its identity due to policies designed to erode its land and resource base, the use of its language, its own social and political institution as well as its traditions, art forms, religious practices and cultural values.

“When such policies are carried out systematically by governments on the pretext of social progress, national unity, economic development, military security, then such governments are guilty of ethnocide…”
(Shanthi Thambiah, 'Cultural Diversity and Indigenous peoples' in Kua Kia Soong edited, 'Mother Tongue Education of Malaysian Ethnic Minorities', DJZHLC, 1998:19)

Having witnessed this process of “ethnocide” at Sungai Asap, I have always said that this displacement of the 10,000 Bakun peoples was the single most dastardly act of the Mahathir administration and the Taib state government. For this, all component parties of the Barisan Nasional must bear full responsibility. Permit me to refresh your memory regarding “Operation Exodus”.

Affected communities not fully consulted

Ever since the project was first proposed, concerned Malaysian NGOs have consistently raised the issue of the lack of clear information and accountability with regard to the Bakun project. Just about every aspect of the project, including the plans for resettlement, was shrouded in secrecy, vague promises and poor consultation with the affected victims and NGOs.

It is clear that the hurry to resettle these indigenous peoples was linked to the fact that the contracts for the Asap Resettlement Scheme had been given out before the onset of the economic crisis. It was also calculated that money could be made from oil palm plantations in the resettlement area.

The displacement of the Balui population was thus part of the plan to convert them into wage labourers for these plantations. The state is in fact subsidising these plantation interests not only in creating this pool of cheap labour but in the budget allocation for the Asap Resettlement Scheme.

The affected people were promised, by the authorities, adequate plots of land (3 hectares), reasonable housing, jobs and other facilities at the Asap Scheme. Yet, until their final exodus, they had no knowledge of how the Asap Resettlement Scheme had been designed. Nevertheless, they were required to sign a sales & purchase agreement on arrival as a condition for obtaining the keys to their new homes.

As a further pressure for the indigenous people to move to Asap, the authorities closed all support services (schools, clinics, etc) in the original longhouses and all those who stayed behind or moved further upstream were warned that they were trespassing on state land and liable to be forcibly evicted. Those who refused to move to Asap were told that they would lose their right to their compensation payments.

This is hardly the situation within which such a traumatic experience for the indigenous peoples who had lived for generations in their ancestral homes, should have taken place. Instead of receiving all manner of assistance to settle in to the new life, they had to put up with veiled threats and (empty) inducements.

The entire “Operation Exodus” has shown a failure of planning and decision planning. The state of the Asap Resettlement Scheme itself further confirms this fact.

Damned Lives

As a member of the fact-finding team in 1999, I was shocked to witness, first hand, the appalling state of the site, considering it was scarcely a year old. Lack of an adequate sewerage system, lack of rubbish disposal, lack of proper access roads were serious faults, threatening the health and longer-term sustainability of the communities.

The plumbing, made of PVC pipes, can be seen under the houses, and is connected to the septic tank. Leakages in some of these pipes were already noticeable, despite the newness of the scheme. No apparent remedial action had been forthcoming from the authorities. Sewerage waste at some of the longhouses flowed directly into the river near the long houses (we saw this at the Long Geng and Long Ayak resettlement area).

The longhouses do not have a proper drainage system. There are no concrete drains and there are already sections of stagnant and putrid water in the mud drains which take discharge from the houses. This is unsanitary and poses a health hazard, being mosquito breeding grounds and pose risks to children who may play with the water.

Rubbish collection is another problem faced by the community in the resettlement area. It is non-existent. The access road is too narrow for the rubbish collection lorries. Rubbish disposal is an essential service.

During our stay at the site, we noticed at one longhouse residents were tipping rubbish into the stream, while at another, it was being dumped in a heap not far from the longhouse. They had no alternative. The question is: Who planned this site and how could the design have been passed with such basic flaws?

The situation with regard to the housing provided at Asap is also appalling. Not only is the design and condition of the new houses inadequate, but indigenous people were being forced to pay some RM52,000 for a unit through a contract that has not been explained to them and is written in English legalese.

The price of the house was extraordinary, given its shoddy quality, its location and the paltry amount of compensation paid for the original buildings which were of far greater substance and relevance to the people. Sarawak is supposed to be one of the world's main suppliers of wood. (For comparison, a concrete properly finished low-cost house in peninsular Malaysia costs only RM25,000!)

The longhouses are of standard design. Each longhouse has fifteen units (bilik). They are arranged on two storeys. Downstairs is a hall and a kitchen, with a bathroom and toilet. Upstairs is just one open room, presumably for sleeping. The common balcony is much narrower than a traditional longhouse design, meaning it is difficult to use for traditional communal activities.

Other than the roughly cemented toilet and bathroom floors, and the bathroom and toilet walls which are of asbestos, the houses are made of wood - very poor quality wood at that. The doors and wall panels are of plywood, the floor boards are thin third-grade soft wood with gaps between the planks, while the main pillars are thin belian wood.

The long houses at Asap had been designed without any indigenous peoples' inputs. Instead, a British-based company (Bucknall's) was given the contract! And from our investigations, no certificate of fitness had been issued before the resettlement and this was a serious irregularity in the planning process for the site. The state authorities had in fact acted against the municipal laws of Malaysia.

Residents claimed that they had asked for ten acres each at Sg Asap. They were promised seven but only received three acres. Three acres of land is hardly sufficient to meet their needs. The fertility of the soil is inadequate for much of the land is situated on swampy or hilly areas. The size of the land is also inadequate.

Further, despite prior warnings, the state authorities had failed to provide for the circumstance whereby the indigenous people had to abandon their previous land (and crops) but thus had no time to cultivate the new land. There was thus a dearth of vegetables and fruits available at the site.

Several consequences had emerged from this. Firstly, the pressure on the existing land meant almost immediately that there was a severe shortage of fish, game and jungle products. This, together with the lack of vegetables and fruits, meant that the communities were thrust immediately into a wholly cash economy, spending significant sums on purchasing food and materials which had previously been obtained for free.

High transportation costs also meant that the cost of such purchases was relatively expensive.

To attempt to offset this, some of the indigenous people had begun to cultivate state land, outside of the demarcated land for the resettled communities. Again, there was not enough of this extra land, and this had already led to inter-community conflict. In addition, the cultivation of such land (considered “state land”) was likely to incur the wrath of the authorities, sooner or later, meaning such cultivation would be terminated.

It was not coincidental that while the mission was in Sarawak, the State Assembly actually passed an amendment to the Land Code to outlaw squatting on state land. This would have grave consequences for the indigenous peoples at Sg Asap who had been using state land beyond the three acres they had been given.

The mission found that this was a general practice of most of the people there. The other group of people affected by this amendment would be those who have chosen to move further upriver.

The failure by the planners to properly provide adequate alternative land again reflects an apparent inability to respect and honour what the indigenous people themselves had asked for, to properly respect and honour their culture and traditions, to respect and support sustainable farming and to respect and support provision for future generations.

It further indicates how the indigenous communities have been treated like objects in a process which has provided a hopelessly inadequate alternative life for them, under the guise of 'development'.

The residents have been displaced from a subsistence/ part-cash economy to a totally cash economy. Almost everything has to be paid for, including their staple rice, vegetables, wild boar, fish, even buah pinang and sireh which they used to get in abundance. There was a general loathing toward having to pay electricity and water rates. As they have no income, they have been living off their compensation money and this is almost finished now.

The cost of living for the households has increased dramatically after they move into the new resettlement area at Sg Asap. Now, the people are burdened with electric and water bills, which they never paid before. In their original home, they were using a diesel generator to generate electricity (the diesel was provided by the logging company at no cost) and the water supply came from the natural streams.

Although the state government had envisaged the displaced people as wage labour for oil palm plantations, in 1999 only one company had moved in. Even so, the seedlings would take at least five years to mature and allow harvesting work to be done.

From interviewing some local people at Asap, the plantation company Samling prefered to pay local people RM8 per hectare but they paid Indonesian labourers RM20 per hectare. Five companies had been given the green light to open up plantations, including the Sarawak Enterprise but only one had started. This again showed dismal planning by the authorities.

New social problems had arisen such as breakdown of family relations, distrust within communities; lack of social and recreational outlets for the youth; conflict between different communities, and disempowerment of women. We saw widespread despondency among the residents at Sg Asap; alcoholism had taken root and there was no motivation to produce their traditional handicraft beyond the plain floor mats…the symptoms of ethnocide.

Who benefits from the Bakun Dam?

The whole displacement process raises the fundamental questions of who defines and who benefits from development. The fact is that the indigenous population affected by the Bakun HEP have been asked to sacrifice their entire natural and cultural heritage in the name of development. Indeed, government spokespeople and others have lambasted critics as being anti-development and traitors.

Yet on closer examination of the way this whole project has been planned and implemented, it is clear that the indigenous people feel utterly betrayed and degraded by this so-called “development”.

They have been made to change a lifestyle which they controlled and from which they could plan their future, to one where everything has been planned for them and which has robbed them of their dignity, autonomy and ability to sustain their livelihood through integration with their traditional land and its resources.

It must be pointed out that the indigenous peoples of Bakun are by no means “backward” and living primitive lifestyles. Far from it. Most communities have been participating in part cash economy for a long time now. Their original long houses have produced quite a few university graduates and professionals. The member of Parliament for the area in 1999 was himself a former headmaster who had grown up at Bakun.

What they could have done with to improve their quality of life at their original long houses were better services: transportation, education facilities, clinics and hospitals, marketing and credit, etc. They could do with some sustainable means of power for each of their long house communities.

In other words, development must be based on the needs of the community and not the socially destructive projects such as the Bakun dam. Now their forest has been destroyed, their rivers have been depleted of fish and drinkable water and even the only means of transport since the days of their ancestors - the upstream tributaries of the Rajang – has been terminated by the accursed Bakun Dam.

KUA KIA SOONG, a former MP, was principal of the New Era College, Kajang. He is also a director of human rights group Suaram.

Source: Malaysiakini

Najib ‘saves’ Taib with new goodies

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak goes wooing voters in Sarawak with the announcement of a slew of rural projects.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17 January 2011

SUNGAI ASAP: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s weekend visit to Sarawak may have saved Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s political hide, which has come under “tremendous pressure” since the Sibu by-election in May 2010.

Literally taking the bull by the horn, Najib led off his government transformation programme by resolving a gnawing pain in Sarawak’s neck – the Bakun Dam resettlement issue.

On Saturday, more than 1,500 families at the Sungai Asap Resettlement Scheme heaved a huge sigh relief at the federal government’s decision to write off their remaining RM41 million housing loan.

The move will ease the burden of some 10,000 people who were affected by the resettlement programme following the construction of the Bakun Hydro Dam in 1996.

The settlers have long since been battling with the state government over earlier promises made to the settlers with regard to housing, and inadequate land allotment and utilities.

Sarawak, which is heading for its 10th state election, is very much dependent on its rural vote-bank. But an empowered opposition armed with a seemingly endless list of Taib’s corrupt adminstration and personal abuse is threatening to derail rural support for Barisan Nasional.

Last week in a much hyped series of meet-the-MPs, Najib had a session with three Sarawak MPs. What transpired is really anyone guess.

But over the weekend, Najib announced a slew of rural development projects starting with the discontentment of the Sungai Asap community.

Said Najib: “In principle, we agree to cancel the housing loan.

“The details and mechanism of how it will be done will be discussed with Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd, the developer of Bakun Dam.

“We are doing this because we understand your plight and hardship.

“We are connecting electricity supply to Sungai Asap. We will be spending RM22 million to connect Sungai Asap to the main grid,” he told the delighted group of people at Rumah Belor, Sungai Asap.

Consolidating BN’s vote bank

Najib also addressed the community’s unhappiness over the size of land allocated to each family as part of the resettlement package pledged by the Taib administration.

The state governemnt had allocated only three acres per family which the resettlers said was insufficient to generate an income.

“We will find the best ways to allocate more land to each family to ensure the people have a better income,” he said.

Earlier in Belaga, he announced an allocation of RM62 million for the much-awaited 35km road project from Belaga town to Bakun Dam.

“The army will build it under the ‘Jiwa Murni’ programme to reduce the cost… if the Public Works Department were to build the road, it will cost RM350 million,” he said, adding that the government was aware of how vital the road was for the community.

The Belaga district communities were dependent on the Rajang River but the impoundment of the Bakin Dam had left certain stretches shallow.

“Construction of the road will begin next month. The federal government will allocate RM62 million for the project,” he said, adding that since November last year moves to bring treated water supply to Kapit town and the neighbouring communities were already underway.

The RM35 million water supply project is expected to be ready by October 2012.

Najib also said the Belaga district with its 28,000 population would see more infrastructure development to the tune of RM100 million .

Among them is a prefabricated steel bridge across the Linau River in Lusong Laku and a kindergarden for the local Penan community.

Najib said that the governemnt would also build nine resthouses for Penan pupils at Sungai Urun.

“Our desire is to see that no single race – no matter how small or isolated – will be left behind by the present government,” he said.

Source: Free Malaysia Today

URL: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/01/17/najib-saves-taib-with-new-goodies/

Electricity for Bakun resettlers ‘only’ if state provides lines

19 December 2010

FMT Staff

KUCHING: Residents in the 15 longhouses in the Sungai Assap resettlement scheme will ‘only’ receive power from the Bakun project if the authorities provide the transmission lines.

“We will supply power from Bakun to the Belaga township and longhouses in Sungai Assap if there are plans by the relevant authorities to provide transmission lines, ” said the Bakun project management office.

The Sungai Asap Resettlement Scheme is home to more than 10,000 natives who were forced out following the state’s move to develop the RM7 billion Bakun Dam project in 1996.

At that time, the government had promised them a range of facilities. But much of what was promised is yet to be delivered. Many of the natives are also still awaiting their compensation of RM 20,000 and RM 50,000 from the government.

Speaking to newsmen after visiting the Bakun project recently, political secretary to the Prime Minister, Shahlan Ismail, said it was imperative that authorities engage the local community and resolve problems accordingly.

“The PM is very serious about the welfare of the people and wants their problems to be resolved quickly. The relevant authorities must engage and communicate regularly with the public on steps to be taken on the ground,” said Shahlan.

Shahlan was among several top officials from the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) in the PM and Deputy PM’s offices who had visited the settlement and Bakun project recently. The delegation also visited the Long Singu Penan settlement, Lusong Laku primary school and SMK Belaga.

On schedule

Sarawak Hidro managing director, Zulkifle Osman, who briefed the group said the impoundment of the 205-metre dam had begun in Oct 13.

“The threshold level is 195 metres, where dammed water will enter the inlet and turn the turbines to kick-start power generation.

“At the current rate, the impoundment of Bakun hydroelectric dam is ahead of schedule. As of Monday the water in the reservoir has reached 150.4 metres. It could reach the critical mass of 195 metres for power generation as early as April next year,” he said.

Zulkiflie also allayed commonly-held fears that the impoundment would further reduce the water levels in the voluminous Rajang river as had allegedly happened in October/November.

The dry spell coupled with the impoundment of the Bakun Dam had cut off river communications with communities in the upper reaches of Nanga Merit, Belaga, Song and Kapit, resulting in severe shortage of food supplies and hardship to locals in the vicinity.

Zulkifli said: “We don’t expect any untoward incidences. The water level between Belaga and Kapit town should be passable to normal riverine traffic, including express boats, by next July.

“But this could even happen earlier…as early as April if the present rate of impoundment continues.”

The Bakun Dam, which is the second highest concrete-rock filled dam in the world, is managed by Sarawak Hidro, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.

Source: Free Malaysia Today

Bakun dam is 'white elephant' project

Monday, September 13, 2010

THE multi-billion-dollar Bakun dam in Borneo, already condemned as an environmental catastrophe affecting tribal people, is now battling criticism of it becoming a giant white elephant.

The dam, which will eventually submerge an area the size of Singapore, is nearing completion after suffering a series of setbacks and delays since its approval in 1993.

But at the last hurdle, the project has stumbled again. The project is seeing delays in winning the state government's permission to begin the flooding process and no deal is placed yet on purchasing its hefty 2,400 megawatt output.

Ambitious plans for an undersea cable to feed the Bakun's electricity to the Malaysian peninsula have been now abandoned.

This leaves the Sarawak state government as the only feasible buyer — and equipped with a very strong hand.

Negotiations with the dam developer Sarawak Hidro, a subsidiary of the national finance ministry, have reportedly been tough.

"It's a case where the owner of the project is naming an asking price that is very different to what the buyer would want," said Wong Chew Hann, an analyst at Malaysia's top bank Maybank.

"I understand there's quite a huge mismatch," she said. "I'm not sure what they've incorporated into the pricing, but the cost of the project has gone up so much since it was started."

As well as the cost of construction, there is the expense of compensating tribal people for their forced relocation from ancestral lands, and suppliers affected by the long delays.

"So the question is, are you going to incorporate all the compensation costs in the tariff price?" said Wong.

With the indigenous people from the Bakun catchment area long since resettled and its valuable timber resources felled for an equally long time, the dam has been ready to be flooded since April.

The state government had delayed permission, saying it was still evaluating river levels and the impact on boat transport.

A Sarawak minister reportedly said last week that the necessary permit has been granted, denying both that it had been used as a bargaining chip to lower the tariff and that Sarawak was facing an energy glut.

Sarawak Hidro managing director Zulkiflie Osman played down suggestions that he has been held to ransom by the state government.

"Both parties are working together and want it to be settled amicably, with a tariff acceptable to both parties," he told AFP, adding that he expected to strike a tariff deal before December.

The next of Sarawak's mega-dams, the Murum, which is being developed by the state government, is due to come online in 2013 but Osman said he was convinced the state authorities will not bypass the Bakun in favour of its own project.

Alongside the power purchase negotiations, the federal government is also said to be discussing selling the entire Bakun facility — built at a reported cost of 7.3 billion ringgit (2.4 billion dollars) — to the state government, but pricing and finance problems have emerged.

The Star daily reported in July that the federal government was seeking 8.0 billion ringgit while the state government offer was just 6.0 billion ringgit.

The Bakun's output far exceeds existing energy needs in Sarawak, a relatively undeveloped Malaysian state.

Sarawak is mostly destined for industrial users such as aluminium smelters, but these are still on the drawing board.

"The main problem is that currently there is no demand for such a big capacity yet, and in order for Sarawak Energy to purchase the dam they would need adequate funding," said an analyst with a major research house.

"The banks would ask for some kind of feasibility study, and as there is no real demand yet this project risks becoming a white elephant," said the analyst, who declined to be named.

Newspaper reports have questioned how the federal government can ever hope to recover the huge amount of money it has sunk into the project.

"Marred by too many disagreements, the 7.3 billion ringgit project could very well turn out to be a non-starter," the Star said last month, adding that with both the Bakun and Murum dams online there would be a "very real possibility" of a power glut.

Transparency International has labelled Bakun a "monument of corruption" in Sarawak, which has been ruled for three decades by the formidable chief minister Taib Mahmud.

There has also been fierce criticism over the botched relocation of 15,000 indigenous people, who have made an unhappy transition to life in drab resettlement areas.

Baru Bian, chairman of the opposition party Keadilan in Sarawak, said the Bakun project was designed purely to profit cronies, and not planned in the public interest.

"The dam is a waste of public funds, it's not necessary, and what is paramount is that it is disturbing and disrupting the lives of the natives and the environment — the trees and the forests."

AFP

Source: The Brunei Times
URL: http://www.bt.com.bn/science-technology/2010/09/13/bakun-dam-white-elephant-project

State govt to meet PM to finalise Bakun purchase

3 December 2010

KUCHING: The state government will meet up with the Prime Minister to finalise the buying over of Bakun dam from the federal government, revealed Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.

The Bakun Dam project is worth a staggering RM7.3 billion and is owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.

Sarawak has shown keen interest to acquire the dam as it needed extra power to implement its’ projects under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).

“We are going to have a meeting with the prime minister (on the Bakun Dam). We are waiting for him to arrange his time,” Taib told the media after launching the Sarawak Foundry and Engineering Industry Association Building and Automotive and Wielding Institute of Sarawak at Demak Laut Industrial Estate Phase II, here yesterday.

Sarawak has placed RM7 billion to bid for Bakun Dam.

Meanwhile, Taib who is also the Minister of Planning and Resources Management said Sarawak was targeting to harness 7,000 megawatts of power, mainly from hydro-electricity by 2020 to attract investors into SCORE.

He said among the projects that would require high-intensive power supply are aluminium smelting plants, magnesium plants, pulp and paper plants, glass panel plants and shipbuilding.

Source: The Borneo Post Online

URL: http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=78343

Parliament: Bakun Opens Job Opportunities To Original Residents

25 November 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 Nov (Bernama) -- The Bakun Hydroelectric Dam which will be fully operational next year will open opportunities for various types of work to original residents of the area.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said the new jobs will be in the technical field, in information technology, in maintenance work and as boat skippers and rescuers of wild life.

These are among the jobs that the project will create, and "we are of the view that local residents should be given priority," he told the Dewan Rakyat here Thursday.

He as replying to Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj (PSM-Sungai Siput) and Datuk Ago Anak Dagang (BN-Kanowit) on job opportunities for the original residents of Bakun who have long been involved in agriculture and are said to lack skills for work in other sectors.

Awang said the government agreed that priority in providing jobs be given to the original residents now living around the dam.

Answering a question from Dr Jeyakumar on a promise that the Sarawak government was supposed to have made to original residents of Sungai Balui at Belaga, Awang said there was no such pledge.

"The Sarawak government never promised to give a house and five acres of agricultural land to affected residents, including those at Sungai Balui in Belaga," he said.

Every family had been paid compensation covering the land, house and crop affected by the construction of the Bakun dam, and also got three acres of agricultural land, he added.

Awang said the federal government could not intervene in the claims of the original residents for a bigger lot because land came under the purview of the state government.

-- BERNAMA

URL: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=545470

No free houses, land for those affected by Bakun dam

Thu, 25 Nove 2010 18:20

By Patrick Lee

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has never promised to give free houses and farmlands to those displaced by the construction of the Bakun hyro-electric dam.

Deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek Hussin told the Dewan Rakyat this after Sungai Siput MP D Jeyakumar asked about the promises of free houses and five acres of farmland for the Sungai Balui residents in Belaga.

Instead, he said that each family would be given a certain amount of compensation for the land, house and farming land affected by the dam's construction.

The deputy minister also added that community halls and main roads leading to Bakun from these resettlement villages would be constructed as well.

Awang said that each family received an average of RM51,980 in compensation.

He also said that the state government would reduce the price of houses sold to former Sungai Balui residents by 50%, or by RM25,000 per unit.

Awang also said that families whose houses were worth less than RM25,000 would be given a loan to purchase these houses.

He said that the federal government had allocated a total of RM534.05 million to the Sarawak government for communities affected by the construction of the Bakun hyro-electric dam in 2005.

Major concern

The deputy minister added that this money would then be managed by the Sarawak state authorities.

Jeyakumar told the House that he had worked in the area in 1984, and visited many of the places that would be affected by the dam's construction.

"My friends who live there tell me that they have encountered many problems after they have been resettled," the MP said, adding that job opportunities were a major concern for many of Belaga's former inhabitants.

"In the new place, they have no work, and many men of working age have to work (in cities) far away, such as Sibu and Kuching," he said, adding that many of the locals were farmers and were only able to find low-paying jobs in the city.

Jeyakumar then asked Awang if it was possible to give these people more farmland.

"Three acres is not enough. What about other places in the interior? Can they be opened for farming? Can new larger locations, or in the lower areas (tanah hilir) be given to them?" he asked.

Although not directly answering Jeyakumar's question, Awang agreed and said that the matter needed to be given more consideration.

He, however, assured the Sungai Siput MP that job opportunities would be made available at the Bakun dam itself when it becomes fully operational in 2011.

Source: Free Malaysia Today
URL: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/barisan-nasional/13333-no-free-houses-land-for-those-affected-by-bakun-dam

‘Raise Rajang River water level’

12 November 2010

KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit on Wednesday urged the parties responsible for the impoundment of the Bakun Dam, to release more water to increase the water level of Rajang River.

He said the impoundment had adversely affected the tourism industry in the area and the livelihood of the people downstream.

“Because of the shallow water level, some of them lost their jobs as tourist guides and have to chop firewood for a living because there are no more tourists coming after the water level dropped,” he told reporters after launching the “Jeffry Lim Freedom to Express Essence of Love” photo exhibition, here.

Dawos was commenting on a newspaper report yesterday, that the low water level in the upper reaches of Rajang River had affected the tourism industry in the area.

The water level has been receding since the Bakun Dam impoundment began and eventually dropped by more than four metres.

Dawos, who is the former environment adviser for the Bakun Dam project, said that one of the conditions for the contractors involved in the project was to release 150 cubic metres of water per second.

“But now, the contractor has only released 110 cubic metres of water per second,” he said.

Since the impoundment began on Oct 13, the water level of several rivers including Sungai Balui and Rajang dropped drastically which resulted in the operations of express boats, the main mode of transport in the area, being affected.

Meanwhile, the exhibition showcases Lim’s 15 years of experience in photography in over 35 countries where he shared his love for his family, friends, career and the community through visual storytelling.

The exibition is being held at the Bangsar Shopping Centre from today until Nov 19. — Bernama

Source: The Borneo Post Online
URL: http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=74611

Dawos: S'wak Hidro did not follow rules

Friday November 12, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR: A former environment adviser to the Sarawak government is fuming over the fact that the impoundment of the Bakun dam has caused low water levels at the Rajang river.

Thus, river travel and tourism have been severely affected in Belaga.

Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit warned that the drop of more than four metres in water levels was a consequence of ignoring downstream needs.

He claimed that Sarawak Hidro, which is fully-owned by the Ministry of Finance Inc., had failed to abide by the requirements stated in the Downstream Environment Assess­ment study.

Source: The Star
URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2010%2F11%2F12%2Fnation%2F7416079&sec=nation

Rajang Logjam A Natural Disaster, Says Sarawak Forestry

SIBU, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- The recent logjam on the Rajang River was a natural disaster caused by heavy downpour and not by overlogging or impoundment of the Bakun Dam, according to the initial report by the Sarawak Forestry Corporation.

Sarawak Forestry chief executive officer Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the 3D Airborne Hyperspectral Sensor taken on Oct 15 showed that the area was still covered by forest but traces of landslides could be seen due to heavy downpour at the Ulu Sungai Melatai catchment area.

"We want to clarify the misconception and nonsense from an overseas source that the logjam was caused by overlogging or impoundment of Bakun Dam," he told reporters at the Sarawak Forest Department Excellence Service Award presentation here Tuesday night.

Overlogging was not an issue because there was no logging activity on both sides of Melatai River since 2006, he said.

-- BERNAMA

Seven-month flooding of the 205m-deep Bakun reservoir begins

By STEPHEN THEN
stephenthen@thestar.com.my

Photos by ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE

AN EERIE silence has descended on the Bakun Valley in central Sarawak following the impoundment of the Bakun Dam starting last Wednesday.

StarMetro visited the site 24 hours after the flooding start

ed and found it deserted.

The more than 4,000 workers who laboured at the site during the height of the dam’s construction from 1996 to this year have left. So have the hundreds of trucks, excavators, shovels, four-wheel drives and drilling and blasting machinery.

Gush: Water released from a diversion tunnel at the dam.

Many have been transported to the Murum Valley, 70km in

land for the construction of the Murum Dam.

The housing quarters in Bakun built by dam developer and manager Sarawak Hidro were also deserted except for several bungalows occupied by the engineers and site manag

ers overseeing the flooding of the reservoir.

They will be there for the next seven months or so until the 205m-high dam

is completely flooded.

New fate: The dried up downstream of Sungai Balui caused by the impoundment.

Once the water is at the 195m mark, the turbines can be tested.

When this is successfully done and electricity generation starts, only a handful of technical staff will be left in Bakun.

“All these areas will be flooded,” said Sarawak Hidro managing director and chief engineer Zulkifle Osman while sweeping his hands across the Bakun Valley from a high vantage point.

“Not many of us (Sarawak Hidro staff) are left. The physical construction is completed except for a few finishing touches.”

Sad moment: Akid Lopeng (right) and her daughter Akid Sidek reminiscing over the dried up downstream of Sungai Balui caused by the impoundment of the Bakum dam.

The Balui River, on which the dam is sited, is rising after the river diversion tunnels were closed last Wednesday.

Bakun folk and Sarawak Hidro are in the process of saving priceless ancestral heritage and rare flora and fauna.

Denis Hang Bilang, the Bakun joint committee secretary for Lepuun, Lebu Kulit, Uma Bakah, Uma Lesung and Uma Balui Ukap, said last Wednesday that Zulkifle had agreed that Sarawak Hidro would liaise with Sarawak Museum to salvage ancestral heritage ranging from burial remains to monuments of warriors from ancient times.

“Sarawak Hidro will also build a jetty and a rest house for our use and will forward our remaining grouses on compensation and land claims to the Prime Minister,” he added.

Source: The Star

URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2010%2F10%2F19%2Fsarawak%2F7245601&sec=sarawak

SCANE condemns governments for allowing water impoundment for Bakun dam

13 October 2010

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.

Bakun Dam ‘is an economic rip-off’

October 11, 2010
By Joseph Tawie

The construction of the Bakun and seven other dams plus the coal-fired power plants are economic rip-offs – they are Sarawak’s own get-rich-quick schemes.

“The massive sums involved in building these large dams would certainly guarantee handsome profits for the privileged project proponents,” said See Chee How, Sarawak PKR information chief.

“This is not development for Sarawak, but an economic rip-off. Sarawak-owned get-rich-quick schemes have exhausted our timber resources.

“Almost all our agricultural land have been leased out,” he said when commenting on the astronomical costs of constructing the Bakun Dam.

PKR, he said, wants the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry or a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry to find out the final costs of the Bakun hydro-electric project and where the money has gone to.

“The commission should also re-examine the cost-benefit analysis and the economic viability of the Bakun project,” said See.

See added that the original cost was estimated at RM3.95 billion in 1983 and RM4.09 billion in 1985. With cost overruns and compensation for delays and interests, the final tag is believed to have escalated to RM15 billion today.

“But Malaysians have been kept in the dark as to the final costs and where the substantial additional sums have gone to,” he said.

India’s experience

“Even with the cost now estimated by the federal government at RM7.3 billion, double the original estimate, there is a need to re-examine the cost benefit analysis and the economic viability of the Bakun project” said See.

“It must be borne in mind that only one out of the originally planned eight hydro turbines will be commissioned next year, reducing its power generating capacity from 2,400MW to 300MW.

“Take India’s experience: it has more than 3,000 dams but 60% of them are economically non-viable financial disasters because they are not able to recoup their investments.”

“The Sarawak BN government owes all Sarawakians an explanation. We want Second Planning and Resource Management Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hassan to give us his reason for saying that the Bakun Dam is not a white elephant.

“Sarawakians have paid their share of the cost of the RM15-billion project and we now have to fork out another RM7 billion to buy the federal project,” he said.

“What is the actual cost to all Sarawakians? We have not included the socio-economic and environmental costs which all Sarawakians have to bear.

“Bakun was originally projected to generate 2,400MW power. If the state government is convinced that Bakun is economically viable, Sarawakians should be convinced that it can generate the 2,400MW power.

“Otherwise, what is the justification for the seven new dams and more coal-fired power plants?” he asked.

Source: Hornbill Unleashed

URL: http://hornbillunleashed.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/10544/