A Dam Future For Sarawak

Read this in Malaysia Kini: Sarawak’s 12 new dams alarm environmentalists.

So, after exploiting our oil and gas from our offshore, now BN government wants to exploit our forests to build dams to generate electricity. The title sounds alarming to environmentalists but for Sarawakians, it’s a nightmare that we would like to avoid due to its disastrous impact. With the small size of Malaysia and its smaller population compare to India or China, the people think that it’s obviously ridiculous to speed up energy production to generate 7000MW in such a short time, which is also a waste to people’s money. And why should we let the government to exploit our beautiful land again? Does the future of electricity source in all states of Malaysia comes from Sarawak? And does it worth the effort by becoming an electricity exporter after cutting down the trees and flood the land? If this become reality, once again Sarawak will become the korban victim of another gigantic monstrous development of the nation.

For sure more forests will be flooded. But before the forestlands are totally submerged, the forests surface, rich in timber trees will have to be extradited by the logging tycoons and their troops appointed by the government and the profits will then go to their personal pockets. Clearing of trees will cause disturbance to the ecosystem of the forests including the habitat of most faunas and in worst-case lead to extinction. We will also lost a few thousand hectares of forests and this will jeopardize the purpose of our forests as the environment natural lungs. Losing forests is equivalent to the acute damage suffered by a hardcore smoker due to the shrinkage of the lungs.

What for the government wants to spend millions of ringgits to promote various bio-tech scientific research in our blessed rich forests, which house various type of flora species but at the same time they have already planned to destroy the hidden treasures of these forests to fulfill their demolition agenda. Even before we could find potential medicine and antidotes to cure various diseases or other scientific findings that benefits mankind, the existing forests might already be death conquered by the dams.

Imagine 12 mega dams located at various locations in Sarawak. Constructions of it might be perfect under supervision from expects but nothing is greater than the Hand of God. With more frequent earthquakes occurring in our neighboring countries, there is no guarantee that we will always be spared by the side effects of these earthquakes. Even stronger and frequent tremors can easily fatigue the dam structures and imagine the massive flood that might happen on our motherland. As the world is critically ill, there are so many unpredictable consequences that might happen due to the potential risks initiated by the constructions of these dams.

Of cause, the natives and aboriginal groups will be hit directly, losing their NCR lands, a heritage past down from their ancestors. Their origins, identities, cultures, histories and incomes, which are defined by their inherited lands will be threaten, lining up for possible wipe off. Moving them to new settlements is like forcing them to start a new lifestyle and assimilate them into the government’s agenda. Its against the ethics of human rights.

Look at the native settlement from Kg. Asap. They were forced to move from their original homes to give way to Bakun project. Their forced sacrifice doesn’t worth the compensation given to them by the government. They were ruled out by complicated proceedings thrown in by the government through its biased judiciary system, which doesn’t benefit the native groups.

The Sarawakians are against this type of dangerous constructions, which bring so much negative implications on the nature, safety, lifestyle and the future of the people. We harshly condemn these dam projects in our homelands.