Sarawak to build 12 dams to meet future power needs
By TEH ENG HOCK and ROYCE CHEAH
The move has got environmentalists up in arms, questioning the need for the dams and the planned development of the state. They also suggested that Sarawak’s national park may be threatened.
However, Deputy Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum said the dams were necessary to meet energy demands.
Click on image to view actual size.They will be located at Ulu Air, Metjawah, Belaga, Baleh, Belepeh, Lawas, Tutoh, Limbang, Baram, Murum and Linau rivers. The plan will also see an extension to the Batang Ai dam.
All these are in addition to the 2,400MW Bakun dam and will push the total generating capacity in the state to 7,000MW by 2020, an increase of more than 600% from the current capacity.
The plans were in a presentation entitled Chinese Power Plants in Malaysia – Present and Future Development in October last year at the China-Asean Power Cooperation and Development Forum in Nanning, China.
The 48-slide presentation has been made available on the Internet.
Chinese companies were expected to design, build and commission the dams, the presentation said.
The Murum Dam project is scheduled to begin this year with a memorandum of understanding already signed between the Sarawak Energy Board and China Three Gorges Project Corporation.
It also said a detailed study on the Batang Ai extension was already under way while a feasibility study had commenced at Limbang and a pre-feasibility study had started at Baram.
Currently, Sarawak’s energy output is 933MW and it does not need any more energy.
However, there are plans to expand the aluminium-smelting industry in the state which will need the planned output. Furthermore, the Bakun dam’s 2,400MW was originally meant for peninsular Malaysia.
According to media reports, the Sarawak Government has already approved the building of an aluminium smelter by local company Press Metal Bhd.
Others which have shown interest includes China’s Luneng Group, Smelter Asia Sdn Bhd, Alcon Inc, Mitsubishi Corp, BHP Billiton Ltd and Australia’s Rio Tinto.
Centre for Environmental Technology and Development Malaysia chairman Gurmit Singh expressed concerns over the plan.
He said the proposal to build the dams and then look for energy-guzzling industries to use the energy was wrong.
He questioned how the building of the dams were related to the national energy policy.
“This is also a typical example of the ‘not in my backyard’ mentality where a country puts its polluting industries in other countries,” he said.
Salang said the 12 dams were necessary as consumption was projected to increase with the development of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy.
He said the dams would only be approved if they passed their environmental impact assessment.
He added that he did not expect the projects to materialise any time soon although the plan was to complete all dams by 2020.
Sexy freedom– exposed
TEH TARIK
By ANDREW SIA
What is freedom? Is it the right to capture the fickle male gaze with skimpy skirts? Or the liberty to speak out when something is not right about society?
THE Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), held last weekend in Santubong, Sarawak, served up not just fabulous music but also fascinating insights into the different kinds of freedom we have in Malaysia.
For instance, do you think our young ladies should be allowed to dance and make merry to throbbing African tribal drums while wearing bikini tops and hot pants? While also swilling beer or tuak (traditional rice wine)? In an open-air government-owned venue?
Yes, that is precisely what happened at the Sarawak Cultural Village, the venue for the festival, 30 minutes from Kuching.
Can you imagine the same thing happening in other government-owned tourism complexes in Peninsular Malaysia, such as Malacca’s Mini Malaysia or Kelantan’s Cultural Centre?
It’s intriguing to observe how we can be one country, yet have such differing standards of freedom.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against sexy women prancing around. Like any other red-blooded male, I rather enjoy the spectacle.
At times, it seemed as if half of KL’s beautiful people (and wannabes like myself) had been exported from the national capital’s Zouk, Passion and Rum Jungle night clubs to rock the tranquil forests around the Sarawak Cultural Village.
But apart from such sexy skin-deep freedoms, what about other rights?
Once again, events at the RWMF were instructive.
Last Sunday night, as music lovers were filing through the main gate, some 60 indigenous folk, led by the Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia), staged a peaceful candle light vigil to highlight their complaint – that their ancestral rainforest lands are being encroached upon by logging and oil palm companies.
They were not, shall we say, overly enthusiastic about being transformed from independent landowners into subservient labourers plucking oil palm for RM15 a day.
And so they distributed flyers with the website www.whatrainforest.com with a tongue-in-cheek “invitation” to the “The Sarawak Oil-Palm World Music Festival”. Within five minutes, a large contingent of policemen surrounded the demonstrators and removed their placards, while security guards tried to confiscate leaflets distributed earlier to tourists, leaving some puzzled about Malaysia’s “freedoms”.
Here, too, we can learn about the different nuances of media autonomy. My friends in Kuching who work for Borneo-based newspapers tell me that logging is one of the “highly sensitive” topics there.
However, the peninsula-based newspapers seem to have a bit more “leeway” on this. For instance, a story from The Star, published last October, highlighted how the rainforest upstream from the controversial Bakun dam, which was supposed to be preserved as a “water catchment” to ensure a supply of clean water, was being converted into oil palm plantations – raising fears of a water shortage (as experienced in Selangor and Malacca in recent years) for the hydro-electric turbines during the dry season.
Yet, if we’re honest, for most of us in the peninsula, issues about Iban rainforests and land rights are a little “far away”, just as I was told Sarawakians view the current KL brouhaha of “statutory declarations” and allegations of injustice to be an irrelevant Orang Semenanjung melodrama. Who cares?
So, was the Rainforest World Music Festival the best place to highlight issues about, err, the rainforest?
An article in The Borneo Post newspaper the next day disagreed:
“This is the wrong time and the wrong place to do it. This festival actually helps the tourism industry. These people are just barking up the wrong tree. This is a music festival where people come together as one.”
The article may have been right — some of the spaghetti-strapped crowd, plus the odd wannabe or two — seemed irritated that our sovereign right to a “rainforest” party had been dampened by, of all things, issues about people in a real rainforest. Who cares?
And can you blame us? It’s the sexy freedoms that capture attention, not “tedious” environmental rights – unless a pop star makes the latter “hip and cool”. Besides, surely it was asking too much of us relatively affluent city-and-self-centric KL folk to be concerned about some impoverished (or worse, unfashionable) natives living in unheard-of villages deep inside Sarawak?
In the meantime, the “emancipation” of lowered necklines and raised hemlines may be one of the few true liberties that we have left.
A music festival where “people come together as one”? We may live in one country, but the rural-urban divide across the South China Sea seemed too deep and wide to bridge during that night’s incident.
Similarly, if our rights – such as the freedom to party away in KL’s nightclubs with skimpy clothes – were to be removed one day, we should not expect other Malaysians to speak up on our behalf either.
Teh tarik is an irreverent brew concocted occasionally by an author who wishes that our social rights can be as sweet and sexy as bikini tops.
Festival organisers regret action of activists
KUCHING: The organising committee of the Rainforest World Music Festival 2008 Sunday expressed its regret over the action of a group of activists to pick on the event to highlight their causes.
The event, led by Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah from Selangor, held a demonstration at the entrance to RWMF at Sarawak Cultural Village last Sunday.
The co-organising chairman of the event Benedict Jimbau said RWMF was not the right venue for the activists to come and hold demonstrations.
“Rainforest Music Festival is a major tourism event for Sarawak, and a big attraction for the state’s tourism industry. What has this festival got to do with their (the activists) causes?” he asked when contacted on Sunday.
The activist held up small banners with the words “What Rainforest?” while others were holding candles as they made several remarks against oil palm plantations and the land policy of Sarawak.
Asked if the activist had ‘barked up the wrong tree’, Benedict said: “Well, if that is the way you put it, then I personally think that it is.”
On a positive note, he was happy that the demonstration did not have any impact on the carnival-like atmosphere on Sunday night.
Benedict, who is also Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) corporate affairs executive, said the immensely-popular RWMF is now one of the best know music festivals in the world and attract concert-goers from many countries.
He thanked the police for smooth handling of the demonstration as the activists were properly dispersed without resulting in any untoward incident.
The demonstration at SCV last Sunday, which was also the last night of the RWMF 2008, attracted a large crowd of curious onlookers mainly foreigners coming for the RWMF.
It is learnt that it was not the first time that the activists had tried to ‘use’ the RWMF to spread their message. However, it was the first time a demonstration was being held and also the first involving Sivarasa who is also Subang MP since he was elected MP in the March general elections. Many of the concert-goers also felt that the group of people was using the wrong platform to tell their message.
“This is the wrong time and the wrong place to do it. This festival actually helps the tourism industry. These people are just barking up the wrong tree,” said one journalists.
END
ps: What Rainforest? would like to clarify that YB Sivarasa Rasiah had no part in organizing the candlelight vigil. YB Siva was merely a festival goer supporting our cause who, as a human rights lawyer saw a need to intervene when the situation begin to turn ugly with the police. What Rainforest? would however like to extend our utmost thanks to YB Sivarasa for his timely legal intervention.
pps: It is confirmed, the organisers of the RWMF has made an official statement saying that the RWMF is strictly a tourism event. It is definitely not a platform to highlight the plight of the rainforest and indigenous people as it was originally intended to. Once again What Rainforest? would like to pose the question “What Rainforest?”
KUCHING: Flyers with sarcastic messages about the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) were found distributed on the second night of the festival in what looked like an attempt to smear the event and get some ‘messages’ across to the authorities.
The double-sided printed flyers had ‘What Rainforest?’ written in bold letters, and printed on the other side was what seemed to be an ‘invitation’ to the ‘The Sarawak Oil-Palm/Forest Plantation World Music Festival’ and a website of www.whatrainforest.com. While the motive behind this might be apparent to most, it seems that the distributors had picked the wrong event to highlight their causes.
Holding a flyer, a journalist at the festival said this group of people us using the wrong platform to convey their message.
“This is the wrong time and the wrong place to do it. This festival actually helps the tourism industry. These people are just barking up the wrong tree,” he said.
Being an environmentalist himself, he felt the group needed to rethink their direction and find the right platform in order to get their messages through.
He said it was a music festival where people came together as one and banging on the festival was really inappropriate.
END
PS: according to the media circulation monitoring agency ABC, The Borneo Post last recorded a circulation of 86000. We, at What Rainforest? would like to thank the Borneo Post for quoting our flyer almost word for word and for publicizing our website www.whatrainforest.com… instantly providing our flyer a reach of 86000 audiences. We look forward to more mindless scathing articles by the Borneo Post in regards to our campaign.
PPS: Yes it is true. According to the article above, The Sarawak Rainforest World Music Festival is not the place to highlight the plight of the rainforest. We are ’sorry’ that we have failed to realize that the SRWMF is really nothing more than a mere tourism event.
PPPS: We encourage readers to respond to the Borneo Post by writing to its editor at bpletters@theborneopost.com. Or visit http://www.theborneopost.com/?page_id=23 . If you do send a letter, let us know by pasting a copy of it in the comments section of this post.
Sixty indigenous people of Sarawak led by Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) staged a peaceful 30-minute candle light vigil demanding for recognition of their land rights at the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) last Sunday.
The group, including two elderly men in their 80s trooped into the Sarawak Cultural Village as festival-goers began streaming into the venue for the final night performance.
Festival-goers got wind of the solidarity event from two sets of leaflets that were distributed the day before. In a tongue-in-cheek fashion asking What Rainforest?, they were invited to show their support for the indigenous communities’ struggle for their rights over their traditional land.
Rest-assured the police ‘heard’ the call-for-action loud and clear too. They responded by deploying so many plainclothes cops that I could bump into one every few steps easily not to mention those in uniform led by Kuching OCPD DSP Wong Wei Loong.
Did I say it was peaceful? Well, it was for a good 5 minutes before the police moved in as more candles were lit and the group was joined by sympathizers, both local and foreign.
Just as villagers hold up their placards with statements like Kelapa Sawit, Kepala Sakit and Don’t steal our land, respect NCR, plainclothes policemen snatched the items.
The crowd reacted candidly by holding up the leaflet that they had kept and the cover of a 20-min film titled What Rainforest? …Wake up and smell the palm oil!
As Nicholas Mujah, coordinator of Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) who led the protest tried to make a speech through a loud-hailer, he was stopped.
A Special Branch officer tried to coax Nicholas by speaking in Iban but Nicholas replied in Malay for all to hear: “When you retired, would you have a kampong to go back to if you allow the companies to take away our land? We’ve to defend our land and our rights.”
Sivarasa Rasiah, the Subang MP who was at the festival with his wife Anne James was among the crowd. YB Siva intervened as the situation got a bit tense as Nicholas was alienated and surrounded by Special Branch officers. One of us overheard the cops saying ‘arrest him’.
Siva insisted that Nicholas is allowed to make his statement and leave and the police will not arrest him. All the while a Caucasian freelance TV reporter recorded the event and both Nicholas and Siva were interviewed. Sad to say none of the local media bothered to cover the event. I saw one young reporter refusing to take our brochure. Wouldn’t he want to find out what we have to say?
Anyway …
Nicholas later informed that a Special Branch officer known to him told him that the police was ready for us and even showed Nicholas the two FRU trucks parked some distance away from the entrance.
The crowd managed to hang on for 30minutes jostling and negotiating with DSP Wong without any untoward incident.
Even the rain held out for us. It poured shortly after as we made our way back to the cars.
I must say that OCPD Wong and his boys behaved rather professionally. Maybe deep down they too see the injustices inflicted upon the indigenous communities – first, by logging activities and now plantation companies.
The latter, if left unchecked NOW will mean the death knell for Sarawak rainforests.
So, once again, What Rainforest?
Let us stop kidding ourselves…
There is no room for the rainforest at the Sarawak Rainforest World Music Festival. The calls for its preservation by the indigenous people of Sarawak was met with a barrage of uniformed and plainclothes policeman eager to squash any form of protest.
Finally, there was some form of reality at the RWMF on its last night – some 60 villagers whose rainforests homes are on the verge of being destroyed, yet by another oil palm development – staged a silent protest at the venue entrance.
While visitors to the festival were celebrating the glories of rainforests, few are aware that the festival is a big rose-tinted event by the Sarawak Tourism Board that conveniently ignores the plunder of the rainforests that displace the indigenous communities.
If you were a witness or are a supporter of the ‘what rainforest?’ campaign. We would like you to share your thoughts and experiences at the candlelight vigil. Please click on ‘comment’ below and type away…
ps: a full account of the events that took place at the candlelight vigil will be posted soon. Keep visiting www.whatrainforest.com
pps: the ‘What Rainforest?’ film will be uploaded soon on this page.
