A Sarawak activist anticipates forced eviction of forest natives if the state government starts mining the RM1.25 trillion worth of underground precious metals and minerals.
Belaga social activist Harry Wing foresees forced eviction and land-grab like that seen during the time when 15,000 natives were forced out from the Bakun Valley in Belaga district in central Sarawak for the Bakun Dam project.
He noted that the state government took over the forests measuring more than 64,000 hectares for the project.
He told The Vibes today that the bitter history of Bakun that happened 25 years ago looks set to repeat itself in other parts of rural Sarawak if full scale mining starts.
"The announcement that the state government is planning to go big in mining after discovering RM1.25 trillion worth of precious metals is really frightening news for us natives.
"We natives from the Bakun valley went through forced relocation and suffered from having our ancestral land taken away from us when the government started the Bakun Dam project 25 years ago.
"I am worried that what happened in Bakun will also happen again in those areas. The state government said it had found rich deposits of gold, rare earth, bauxite and other precious metals.
"For us forest natives, we gain nothing. We lost our ancestral land and our homes,” he said.
Wing and his family were among the 15,000 Bakun folks forced to relocate to the Sungai Asap Resettlement Scheme 25 years ago.
Wing now dedicates his time to fight for the social and land rights of the natives.
On June 18, the Sarawak state government announced plans to go big in mining the state's vast land after discovering some RM 1.25 trillion worth of gold, rare earth, bauxite and other precious metals.
The State Geological Department had recently concluded a survey covering 32 percent of the total 12.4 million hectares of land in Sarawak and found mega-bucks worth of minerals, Deputy premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan had said.
"A survey by the geological experts on 32 percent of our state land area already found an estimated RM 1.25 trillion worth of minerals.
"These minerals included gold, rare earth, bauxite and other precious metals,” he said.
The announcement on the plan for intensive mining of minerals in Sarawak came following closely the recent announcements that the state government is going to construct 10 more hydroelectric dams statewide.
On April 15, a Sarawak minister said the state government has drawn up plans to develop as many as 10 river basins statewide into sources of hydroelectric power.
State Minister of Public Utilities and Telecommunication Datuk Julaihi Narawi said this mega plan is already being drawn up.
"We have already identified the 10 river basins where river currents can be harnessed to generate electricity. We are looking at the cascading dam design.
"The plan by the Premier is to generate 10 gigawatts of electricity at any time by 2030," he had said. – June 21, 2024.
