Jacob Misleads Baram Folks on Dam
Joint Statement of SAVE Rivers and BPAC
26 July 2012
MIRI - With reference to the statement by YB Dato’ Jacob Dungau Sagan that appeared in The Borneo Post today (26 July 2012) headlined ‘Govt follows requirements on dam construction’, we in Save Sarawak’s Rivers Network (SAVE Rivers) together with the Baram Protection Action Committee (BPAC) would like to make the following statement.
We find Dato’ Jacob’s statement to be preposterous and it is irresponsible of him as an elected representative for the people of Baram to say that the Government would not flood its own people.
By going forward with the Baram Dam project, the reservoir created would flood 412 square kilometers of the Kayan, Kenyah and Penan heartland in Baram which will force about 20,000 people to be displaced from their ancestral lands.
The affected people would have no choice but to start new lives in a totally new area. As we have seen in the case of the Batang Ai and Bakun Dam, the people affected there face numerous problems which the government has yet to resolve until today.
We would like to ask Dato’ Jacob, what United Nations requirements has the government followed diligently. If he is referring to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which Malaysia has agreed to adopt in the United Nations, then the government has violated a number of articles, among others, Article 26 (Right to Land) and Article 18 and 19 (Participation in decision making process and obtaining free, prior and informed consent).
Up to now, the government has yet to obtain the consent of the affected people in Baram. The people of Baram strongly oppose this project. This is proven by numerous letters, police reports and protests made by the people of Baram against the said project. All this while, the government has been using the community leaders and the Federation of Orang Ulu Associations Malaysia (FORUM) to give the perception to the public that the people of Baram support this project. Consent does not mean that only the community leaders agree to the project, but it should be based on the consensus of the whole community as stipulated in the UNDRIP. The consensus of the whole community is vital as this project will adversely affect the rights, survival and future of every member of the community.
-END-
Press Statement issued by:
Peter Kallang Philip Jau
Chairman, SAVE Rivers Chairman, BPAC
26 July 2012
MIRI - With reference to the statement by YB Dato’ Jacob Dungau Sagan that appeared in The Borneo Post today (26 July 2012) headlined ‘Govt follows requirements on dam construction’, we in Save Sarawak’s Rivers Network (SAVE Rivers) together with the Baram Protection Action Committee (BPAC) would like to make the following statement.
We find Dato’ Jacob’s statement to be preposterous and it is irresponsible of him as an elected representative for the people of Baram to say that the Government would not flood its own people.
By going forward with the Baram Dam project, the reservoir created would flood 412 square kilometers of the Kayan, Kenyah and Penan heartland in Baram which will force about 20,000 people to be displaced from their ancestral lands.
The affected people would have no choice but to start new lives in a totally new area. As we have seen in the case of the Batang Ai and Bakun Dam, the people affected there face numerous problems which the government has yet to resolve until today.
We would like to ask Dato’ Jacob, what United Nations requirements has the government followed diligently. If he is referring to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which Malaysia has agreed to adopt in the United Nations, then the government has violated a number of articles, among others, Article 26 (Right to Land) and Article 18 and 19 (Participation in decision making process and obtaining free, prior and informed consent).
Up to now, the government has yet to obtain the consent of the affected people in Baram. The people of Baram strongly oppose this project. This is proven by numerous letters, police reports and protests made by the people of Baram against the said project. All this while, the government has been using the community leaders and the Federation of Orang Ulu Associations Malaysia (FORUM) to give the perception to the public that the people of Baram support this project. Consent does not mean that only the community leaders agree to the project, but it should be based on the consensus of the whole community as stipulated in the UNDRIP. The consensus of the whole community is vital as this project will adversely affect the rights, survival and future of every member of the community.
-END-
Press Statement issued by:
Peter Kallang Philip Jau
Chairman, SAVE Rivers Chairman, BPAC
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