MIRI – It is not true that many natives living in the forests of the Baram district in northern Sarawak are eager for a hydro-dam to be constructed there, said a social activist.
It is only state government politicians and their Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) members who are keen to have such a destructive project, said Baram’s Tering ethnic community elder Willie Kajan, who is also a tour leader.
Kajan today said what Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg had claimed – that many Baram natives are urging the state to construct a dam there – is not true.
He demanded that Abang Johari reveal the names of those in Baram who he claims want the dam project to start.
“(Abang) Johari must reveal who are the Baram natives who are eager to have a hydro-dam built in their locality,” he said.
“Which community are they from? Which longhouses? Who exactly are the ones who had requested him to start the dam project? Are they the YBs (elected lawmakers)?
“As it is now, myself or my community people have not even been consulted about this dam project that (Abang) Johari said will be constructed across a section of Sg Tutoh.”
He noted that Sg Tutoh is linked to the Mulu National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site.
“Any major impact to Sg Tutoh can cause impact to the Mulu National Park. Does (Abang) Johari know that?” Kajan told The Vibes today.
Yesterday, Abang Johari said the state government has identified Sg Tutoh in the remote reaches of the vast Baram district in interior northern Sarawak as the location for the construction of a cascading hydroelectric dam project.
Abang Johari said the state will proceed to build the Tutoh Dam because the “local natives of Baram themselves want the dam project”.
Speaking at the Sarawak Civil Service Award dinner in state capital Kuching the night before, Abang Johari claimed that he had received many requests from Baram folk for the dam project to start.
“I was very surprised when I received feedback from the Baram folks asking the state government to construct a cascading dam in the district after I had recently mentioned that we are planning new hydroelectric dams in Sarawak based on the cascading dam design.
“These Baram folks were once very much against the construction of hydro-dams. Now they want me to build the dam in Baram, and I support their request,” Johari had said.
He said the authorities are evaluating Sg Tutoh for the construction of the cascading dam, which will produce electricity for locals and also power for export to neighbouring countries.
On October 2, environmental watchdog group Save Rivers Network had slammed Abang Johari for announcing the construction revival for more hydroelectric dams in rural Sarawak.
Network chairman Peter Kallang said the social and environmental problems in rural Sarawak caused by the construction of mega-dams in past years have not even been resolved, and here is Abang Johari again talking about building new dams.
“Look at the social and human rights problems existing in Bakun – the resettlement longhouses woes, land woes, problems with lack of jobs for the Bakun locals, the poor infrastructure there...
“Yet here we are hearing Premier (Abang) Johari talking about new dams,” he exclaimed. – The Vibes, October 29, 2023
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