SAVE Rivers

+++PLEASE CIRCULATE AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS+++ Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends, As the Save Sarawak Rivers delegation has arrived in Australia, we would like to ask you to sign the new online petition for Hydro Tasmania to stop damming Sarawak rivers. A strong petition will help the Sarawak delegation in Australia Please access the petition now under: http://savesarawakrivers.good.do/save-sarawak-rivers/hydro-tasmania-out-of-sarawak Peter Kallang from SAVE RIVERS and headman James Nyurang Usang have arrived in Sydney and have held some first meetings with media representatives, NGOs and Australian politicans as well as a public event at Bondi Beach. Please find attached two pictures of Peter Kallang and James Nyurang Usang in front of the Sydney Opera House and together with New South Wales MP John Kaye at the state Parliament House today They will continue their tour on Sunday to Canberra where they will be hosted by Senator Lee Rhiannon (NSW Greens). Lee already hosted Bruno Manser ...

23 November 2012 For Immediate Release The campaign for stopping the involvement of Hydro Tasmania in the Sarawak’s mega dams project was officially launched on the 23rd November 2012 with a meeting at the State Parliament for the state of New South Wales in Sydney Australia. The meeting was held with Mr. John Kayes, a member of the Australian Green Party and an elected member of the Legislative Council at the Upper House. Representing Save Rivers were Mr. Peter Kallang, the Chairman of Save Rivers and Ketua Kampung Mr. James Nyurang both from Baram, Sarawak. Hydro Tasmania,a company owned by the government of the state of Tasmania. It is providing skilled manpower to Sarawak Energy Berhad under a secondment arrangement with Hydro Tasmania’s subsidiary, Entura. Among the personnel seconded by Entura to Sarawak Energy Berhad are Mr. Andrew Pattle, who was the project Director for the Murum dam and now the Senior Project Manager for the Baleh and Baram Dam, Mr. Mike Smith a Vice Preside...

G Vinod | November 19, 2012 Sarawak-based NGOs want the state government to put a halt to all dam projects. KUALA LUMPUR: The Baram Dam project will destroy the heritage and livelihood of natives on the pretext of development for Sarawak, said a NGO. Phillip Jau, chairman of the Baram Protection Action committee, said the state government must put a stop to the construction of the project. He said this after submitting a memorandum to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng at the old Parliament lobby. Also present were MPs Fuziah Salleh, Charles Santiago and John Fernandez. “We are not against development but we don’t want this dam. We love our homes and rainforests. Build us roads like the ones in KL and we can bring progress to ourselves,” he said. The Baram Dam, which is still in the planning stages, is set to flood an area of 412 square kilometres, affecting the lives of more than 20,000 people living in that area. Among the tribes that would be most affected are the Kenyah, Kayan an...

Joseph Tawie  | November 22, 2012 For the displaced natives in Bakun, Sarawak, its a case of 'water, water everywhere, nary a drop to drink'. KUCHING: All sorts of woes are bedevilling the people living on their “jelatong” houses which are floating on the Bakun dam lake. Their woes range from a foul smell emanating from rotting organic matter submerged at the bottom of the dam to the river’s declining biodiversity and lack of safe drinking water. The foul rotten egg-like smell is indicative of the presence of hydrogen sulfide and reports of high turbidity and low pH levels are killing off fish life in the dam and tributaries. Highlighting these woes during his budget speech, Ba’Kelalan assemblyman, Baru Bian, said that he made a four-day trip to Bakun recently to see for himself how the people have fared since their displacement to make way for the dam. “I was dismayed at the shocking sights that greeted me and the sorry stories told to me by the people living on their ‘jelat...

FMT Staff  | November 22, 2012 The Bruno Manser Fund wants Sarawak Energy Bhd to declare its finances, contracts and funders linked to the development of mega dams in Sarawak. KUCHING: Swiss-based NGO Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), which has been at the forefront of a global campaign against Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s land “development” policy which has stripped the state’s verdant rainforest and displaced thousands of indigenous natives, is calling for an independent external review of the Bakun, Bengoh and Batang Ai dams. It is also demanding for a moratorium on all Sarawak dam construction and for Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB), a key player in the development, to sack its chairman, Hamed Abdul Sepawi. BMF also wants SEB to declare its finances, contracts and funders. It is also exerting pressure on foreign corporations, which it alleged were closely linked to Taib’s global business empire, to shun the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) It claimed “any involvement in...

CHRISTINE HORN AND ANDREW DODD | NOV 22, 2012 12:57PM In Long San, a small community in the interior of Sarawak, a dam with the help of Australian firm Hydro Tasmania will flood villages. They’re trying to fight back, report Christine Horn and Andrew Dodd. It was a casual comment that brought home the magnitude of the dam planned for this remote corner of Borneo. We were having lunch at the headman’s house in Long San, a small community in the interior of Sarawak. Outside, the children, who were home from school for the holidays, were playing. There were the ubiquitous sounds of chickens and dogs in the background and it was hot and humid. The village is just one degree north of the equator. “This community will be submerged by 168 metres of water,” said the person describing the project, “so yes, it’s a very big dam.” Long San is on the mighty Baram River, the second longest river in Sarawak, and it’s easy to see how it and its hundreds of tributaries would quickly fill the valle...

by Jonathan Chia, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on November 22, 2012, Thursday DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL: Abu Bakar (second left) reads out to Taib the proposals by the Orang Ulu community. Also seen are Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang (left) and Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, who is also Baram MP, Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan (right). — Photo by Chimon Upon KUCHING: The Orang Ulu community in Baram supports the proposed Baram hydroelectric dam project, but they want to be consulted as this project directly affects their lives. Orang Ulu National Association (Ouna) president Datuk Abu Bakar Abdullah said his people never objected to the project per se as they knew it would benefit Baram in the long run. “We want the state government to proceed with the construction of this hydroelectric dam project because it will bring development to us,” he told The Borneo Post at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) here yesterday. He had earlier...

BRUNO MANSER FUND, BASEL / SWITZERLAND 22nd November 2012 Sarawak's indigenous people to pay the price for US$ 105 billion industrialization scheme A new Bruno Manser Fund report exposes the Sarawak state government's excessive hydropower plans for the Malaysian part of Borneo - Bruno Manser Fund is calling for a moratorium on all dam construction after Bakun and for the withdrawal of foreign consultants from socially and environmentally damaging hydropower plans (KUCHING, MALAYSIA) Tens of thousands of indigenous people from the rainforests of Borneo are facing forced displacement from their traditional lands on the basis of hydropower plans drawn up by the state government of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. A report released today by the Bruno Manser Fund entitled "Sold Down the River. How Sarawak Dam Plans Compromise the Future of Malaysia's Indigenous Peoples" examines the dam plans that form part of SCORE, Southeast Asia’s most ambitious and most expensive ener...

Posted on November 21, 2012, Wednesday   KUCHING: Reports that the people in Baram are against the construction of the proposed Baram hydroelectricity (HEP) Dam is a lie by the opposition, says Telang Usang assemblyman Dennis Ngau. In fact the majority of the people of Baram, mostly from the Orang Ulu communities such as the Kayans, Kenyahs and Penans wanted the project as they saw that was one way they could benefit from the government development programme. “But the opposition of the Baram HEP Dam employed scare tactics on the people saying that the dam would not be safe and that they would drown if the dam burst,” Ngau told The Borneo Post here Sunday. He said those who opposed the construction of the dam was small in number and they were backed by several NGOs. “For us, we based our feedback from the majority of the people in the area and representatives from all the 32 longhouses affected are in the committee we formed to handle the welfare of the affected people,” said Ngau....

Posted on November 21, 2012, Wednesday  KUCHING: The state has to improve and redefine its resettlement programmes to ensure those displaced by constructions of dams are properly resettled and taken care of. The call was made by Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing who said the state government had to build dams to generate enough energy to meet the needs of the people and industrial development. Masing who is also Baleh assemblyman stated that the government would ensure all resettlement programmes were properly implemented. “The government must ensure it does things correctly. The state needs these projects to generate electricity. We are aware of the need to do this properly so nobody loses. “NGOs have their rights and can do whatever they want but I don’t think their reasons are valid for the state to consider seriously,” he told reporters when met after the second day of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here. Masing was responding to The Sun online ne...

Posted on November 21, 2012, Wednesday KUCHING: Three motions raised by the oposition members were dismissed on the second day of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting yesterday. The motion by Ting Tze Fui (DAP-Meradong) on the implementation of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) in Sarawak was dismissed on grounds that it is under the purview and jurisdiction of the Federal Government. “The fact that the law on AES had been tabled, debated and approved in the Dewan Rakyat with conclusive proofs beyond any shadow of doubt,” said DUN speaker Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar. According to the motion’s preamble, upon full operation of the AES in the nation, a total of 831 AES cameras are to be set up nationwide, 28 of them in Sarawak. Meanwhile, Asfia said that the stand taken by the state government on the AES system was summed up by a memorandum by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Communication. The localities of the AES system is based on studie...

Joseph Tawie  | November 20, 2012 Several Sarawak NGOs are collectively seeking to rope in their counterparts in Tasmania to help fight against the construction of more dams in Sarawak. KUCHING: A coalition of Sarawak NGOs are extending their fight against the construction of the proposed Baram hydroelectric dam to Tasmania in Australia. Their aim is to inform Australians about Hydro Tasmania, a public company that is heavily involved in the development of mega dams in Sarawak. According to Save Rivers network chairman Peter Kallang, the coalition will also be meeting with local campaigners in Tasmania fighting to save their forests from a Sarawak linked timber company. “Together, we will inform the Australian people about Hydro Tasmania, a public company that is heavily involved in mega-dam development in Sarawak. “We also plan to meet with the heads of Hydro Tasmania, and other Australian companies who are involved in Sarawak Corridor Renewal Energy (SCORE). “We believe that A...

Posted on November 21, 2012, Wednesday  KUCHING: Three motions raised by the oposition members were dismissed on the second day of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting yesterday. The motion by Ting Tze Fui (DAP-Meradong) on the implementation of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) in Sarawak was dismissed on grounds that it is under the purview and jurisdiction of the Federal Government. “The fact that the law on AES had been tabled, debated and approved in the Dewan Rakyat with conclusive proofs beyond any shadow of doubt,” said DUN speaker Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar. According to the motion’s preamble, upon full operation of the AES in the nation, a total of 831 AES cameras are to be set up nationwide, 28 of them in Sarawak. Meanwhile, Asfia said that the stand taken by the state government on the AES system was summed up by a memorandum by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Communication. The localities of the AES system is based on studies con...

Kow Gah Chie  1:47PM Nov 19, 2012 Some 30 indigenous people and members of various NGOs today marched in the rain to Parliament to demand Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak put a stop to plans by the Sarawak government to construct 12 mega dams in the state. Shouting their slogan “Damn the dams” in five languages and unfurling banners that read “stop Murum dam” and “Stop Baram dam”, the group started the 500 metre march at 10.30am from the Bukit Aman police headquarters. The march, aimed at submitting a memorandum to the prime minister, was organised by two NGOs - Damn the Dams action group and Save Sarawak's Rivers Network (Save Rivers). “We are here to ask the prime minister to stop them (the construction of the dams). If he can't do it, then we would replace him with another person who can,” said one of the seven Sarawak indigenous representatives Boyce Anyie, 60, from Kg Long Liam. The seven are also part of Himpunan Hijau's ' long march ' which is currently ...

19 November 2012 PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak is embarking on a drastic social and economic change via an energy-intensive programme called the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE). The powerhouse of SCORE comprises at least twelve planned mega-dams which will displace tens of thousands of indigenous people. Baram dam alone will displace 20,000 natives, and submerge more than 400 square kilometres of rainforest. Currently, Sarawak has an excess of power where current peak demand in Sarawak lies at around 1,000 MW, yet Sarawak Energy Berhad is planning for the installed power of up to 7,000MW by 2020. The ultimate plan is to increase that to 28,000MW by 2030. Local communities displaced by current mega-dams in Sarawak still face many woes and unfulfilled promises. The Sarawak government has in particular acknowledged the failure of the Sungai Asap resettlement for the Bakun mega-dam, while promising that mistakes would be rectified for subsequent m...

G Vinod  | November 19, 2012 Sarawak-based NGOs want the state government to put a halt to all dam projects. KUALA LUMPUR: The Baram Dam project will destroy the heritage and livelihood of natives on the pretext of development for Sarawak, said a NGO. Phillip Jau, chairman of the Baram Protection Action committee, said the state government must put a stop to the construction of the project. He said this after submitting a memorandum to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng at the old Parliament lobby. Also present were MPs Fuziah Salleh, Charles Santiago and John Fernandez. “We are not against development but we don’t want this dam. We love our homes and rainforests. Build us roads like the ones in KL and we can bring progress to ourselves,” he said. The Baram Dam, which is still in the planning stages, is set to flood an area of 412 square kilometres, affecting the lives of more than 20,000 people living in that area. Among the tribes that would be most affected are the Kenyah, Kaya...

10 Nov 2012 This post is also available in: Iban , Malay ‘Engaging’ – time Nick Wright, who is also in charge of Communications engaged with the public about SEB’s plans for the people of Sarawak? Nick Wright is the Australian from Tasmania who acts as Vice President at Sarawak Energy Berhad in charge of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR). In particular, he is in charge of the ‘re-settlement’ of tens of thousands of indigenous people due to be flooded from their homes by the damming of 12 major rivers. So, surely it is time we heard from Nick about what he thinks of the appalling charade that has taken place in recent weeks with the response to the blockade at Murum by the local Penan people? Five years after this dam project got under way and just a few months from completion, these people have still not been given their rights to proper negotiation and settlement. These rights are internationally recognised under UN protocols signed by Australia and Malaysia and n...

12 November 2012 For Immediate Release Sarawakians fighting against the 12 proposed mega-dams in the state will be joining environment activist, Wong Tack on a 14- day march from Kuantan to the parliament starting on November 13th. Philip Jau, chairperson of the Baram Protection Action Committee, is leading a 12 members team, including three women, from Sarawak on this 300 km journey. The Sarawak team is part of an environmental collective formed together to highlight green issues in the nation through the "Green March". Their partners include Himpunan Hijau, Raub Ban Cyanide Commitee, and Pengerang Coalition. Philip Jau, the Chairman of Baram Protection Action Committee, plans to use this opportunity to inform and garner support from West Malaysians to stop the 12 mega-dams in Sarawak. "Our participation in the Green March is also our way of showing solidarity to other communities facing similar battles in their backyard," Philip Jau added, noting that Kuantan is t...

Joseph Tawie  | November 6, 2012 Participants were appalled to hear that the widely accepted international standards for Social and Environmental Impact Assessments (SEIA) were not upheld. KOTA KINABALU: Over 120 participants from 11 countries have unanimously rejected Sarawak’s 12 mega-dams plan citing the “inefficiency, failure and destruction” of similar projects across Southeast Asia. The participants attended the recently concluded Southeast Asia Renewable Energy People’s Assembly (SEAREPA) held in Sandakan, Sabah. In their declaration, participants stressed that they had discussed renewable energy concerns across the region and were deeply concerned by the construction of 12 planned mega-dams to power polluting industries in Sarawak. “Across Southeast Asia, we have witnessed the inefficiency, failure and destruction caused by similar mega-dam projects. “We have also witnessed the potential of community-based renewable energy projects and unanimously believe that instead of c...

K Pragalath  | November 6, 2012 Antara sebab yang diketengahkan untuk membantah pembinaan Empangan Murum ialah ia melanggar Perisytiharan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu berkenaan Hak Orang Asal. PETALING JAYA: Penasihat Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) Dr Kua Kia Soong hari ini menyenaraikan sebab-sebab mengapa bantahan terhadap pembinaan Empangan Murum yang telah siap 80% perlu diteruskan. Suaram merupakan antara 50 NGO yang menyokong perjuangan 1,600 anggota masyarakat Penan dari lapan buah kampung dan sekumpulan masyarakat Kenyah terhadap Empangan tersebut. Menurut Kua, pembinaan empangan tersebut melanggar Perisytiharan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu berkenaan Hak Orang Asal. “Menurut perisytiharan tersebut, persetujuan untuk membina empangan dan memindahkan masyarakat asal perlu diperoleh oleh kerajaan sebelum projek dimulakan. Persetujuan masyarakat perlu diberikan dengan rela hati berdasarkan maklumat yang diberikan. “Di dalam kes Bakun pun, laporan penempatan masih ti...

K Pragalath  | November 6, 2012 Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong wants Pakatan Rakyat to declare its policy on energy and dam construction. KUALA LUMPUR: A prominent social activist today demanded that the national level Pakatan Rakyat leaders break their silence and disclose the coalition’s energy policy in the wake of growing opposition against the Murum hydroelectric dam project by the Penan community in Sarawak. Speaking at a press conference here called “Damn the Dams”, Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong also asked the opposition coalition to state its stand on independent power plants (IPPs). “What are Pakatan’s policies on the dams? What are its policies on independent power plants? What are its policies on demand management?” asked Kua. Kua’s posers came in the wake of a Sarawak activist who blogged that only Sarawak Pakatan lawmakers had raised the issue of the Murum Dam and the Penan and Kenyah communities’ ongoing blockade in Parliament. Kua said that energy policies are vital i...

Posted on November 3, 2012, Saturday KAPIT: Any development surrounding the proposed Baleh Hydroelectric Dam must ensure the interests of the local community are protected, said Baleh Development Committee spokesman Bujal Jantai. During a dialogue on the proposed dam on Thursday, he pointed out that the people of Baleh were not against the project. “We don’t reject the proposed Baleh Hydroelectric Dam, but our local interests must be assured. Being the stakeholders, we want transparency in the implementation of the project,” he said. “It should comply with the local sentiments and expectations provided that the government and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) can fulfil the terms and conditions set by the locals.” He called on those concerned with the development to consult the local community through proper channels such as the Baleh Development Committee, dialogues with the locals and community leaders, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Bujal stressed that Baleh folk wanted...

Posted on November 3, 2012, Saturday KAPIT: A consultant has been appointed to run a series of Social Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) studies on the proposed Baleh Hydroelectric Dam over a period of one year. Kapit Resident Dahim Nadot said Chemsain Konsultant Sdn Bhd will get feedback from those directly affected by the project and government agencies. “Today is a very important day for the development of Kapit Division as it marks the beginning of the serious planning by the state government through SEB – Sarawak Energy Bhd – for the proposed Baleh Hydro Dam,” he said when chairing an SEIA meeting recently. He explained that the SEIA would cover 37 longhouses from Nanga Baleh to Long Singguh. Dahim suggested a local consultative committee be formed comprising community leaders and intellectuals from the area affected by the project. The committee, he said, would serve as a link between locals and the government to ensure that the interests of those affected are taken into ...

by Peter Sibon, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on November 8, 2012, Thursday CLEAN ENERGY: Map of Sarawak indicating the sites of the 12 proposed HEP dams. (Inset) Tan Sri James Jemut Masing. KUCHING: Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing has challenged critics of the state’s hydroelectricity programme to come up with better alternative source of energy. “I would like to throw a challenge at them (critics) on two fronts. Firstly, please provide us with the best source of alternative power besides fossil fuel, and secondly, they have to stop breathing if they criticise just for the sake of criticising,” Masing told The Borneo Post here yesterday. He was commenting on South-East Asia Renewable Energy People’s Assembly (Searepa)’s fierce criticism over the weekend of the state government’s intention to develop 12 dams to support the mammoth Sarawak Corridor of renewable Energy (Score). These dams are to produce some 20,000 megawatt of electricity by 2030 to push the...

by James Ling, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on November 3, 2012, Saturday KAPIT: The payment of RM4.37 million last Tuesday to 371 families from seven of the eight villages affected by the Murum hydroelectric dam project represents yet another ‘promise fulfilled’ by the government. Six of the seven villages are Penan villages, and the other a Kenyah-Badeng one. The Penan settlements are at Long Malim, Long Singu, Long Tangau, Long Luar and Long Menapa, while the Kenyah-Badeng settlement is at Long Malim. Museum Department director Ipoi Datan said the payment was for ‘penti pemali’ (payment for rituals) for those graves which would be inundated when the dam, which is about 70 per cent completed, is inundated. On hand to witness the payment were Assistant Minister of Penan Affairs Datuk John Sikie Tayai and Assistant Minister of Culture and Heritage Liwan Lagang. Also present at the cash payout sessions which were held at Long Malim, Long Menapa and Long Singu were political secre...

MIRI; Nov 1st 2012: SAVE Rivers is against the proposal made by the Tokuyama Ltd. to have a scheduled waste treatment facility in Sarawak. The public has been misled in the beginning about the plans of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy or SCORE: the name itself is deceiving because the industries proposed for SCORE are not renewable energy. One of such industries includes Tokuyama’s plans to produce polycrystalline silicon where toxic waste is a by-product. SAVE Rivers fears the impact of such polluting industries in our state, including the treatment and disposal of toxic waste. These industries are the reason why twelve mega-dams are planned for Sarawak which would displace thousands of indigenous people. The mega-dams are built to power these industries, and not to provide cheap electricity to the people who need it the most. However, rural communities are not the only people to be negatively affected by SCORE. People living in Bintulu and other neighbouring towns will be affecte...

31 October 2012 For Immediate Release LONG LAMA, BARAM – About 450 villagers made up of different ethnic groups from all over Baram gathered at a normally sleepy town of Long Lama on 29 October 2012 to demonstrate peacefully and show their displeasure towards some of their community leaders for supporting the proposed Baram Hydro Electric Project (HEP). Banners and placards stating Stop Baram Dam and Stop Mega Dams were unfurled during the demonstration followed by cries from the villagers to call on the government and the relevant authorities to listen to their pleas. The demonstration started at around 10.00 am, outside the Long Lama Sub-District Office and then the villagers proceeded to march around town shouting slogans “Stop Baram Dam” in the different ethnic Orang Ulu dialects. Police presence in Long Lama was heavy including a police helicopter flying overhead scanning the situation on the ground. It was learnt that there were about 100 police personnel assigned with also ...

October 31, 2012 The Penan communities affected by the Murum Dam have shown a commitment to defend their rights and Malaysians must give them full support. COMMENT By Kua Kia Soong The Penans have been blockading against the construction of the 944MW Murum Dam since Sept 26, 2012. More than 1,600 Penans from eight Penan villages (including one Kenyah Badeng longhouse) are affected by the construction of the dam which is now about 70% completed. Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), contractors and private companies involved in the project have been forced to use ferryboats or tugboats through the Bakun Dam reservoir to transport goods, machines, building materials etc. to the Murum Dam site. This is a new and different factor compared to the campaign against the Bakun dam in previous years. While we had built a campaign against the Bakun Dam in the past, there was no action by the indigenous peoples affected on a scale comparable to the Murum Dam blockade. The Penan communities affected by...