SAVE Rivers

Penans staged blockades on their own will, and reports of Sarawak Energy contractors burning their old longhouses came directly from the victims, claims SAVE Rivers Network. Winston Way  | September 26, 2013 KUCHING: A Sarawak-based NGO which has been accused of instigating Penans to stage blockades against the Murum HEP has hit back at the Sarawak Energy Board (SEB). SAVE Rivers Network chairman Peter Kallang said: “It’s a lie. SEB is trying to paint the picture that we (the NGOs) are trying to instigate the people there. “In fact, we were never even there.” Click here to read more

We in the SAVE Rivers Network are in full support of this initiative on 26th September 2013, taken by our friends from Peninsular Malaysia which is in solidarity with the people of Murum. On behalf of those who are dissatisfied with the treatment given to them by Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) and Sarawak’s State government, a group of Murum folks comprising of Penans and Kenyah are protesting on the access road to the Murum dam. Their demand has so far not been met by SEB and the government. Although a majority of villagers have not been displaced, Sarawak Energy Berhad have started impounding the dam starting on Saturday 21st September 2013. We demand that where negations are required, the affected communities must be given the freedom to appoint their own spokesmen including any professional support. We urge that Sarawak Energy Berhad and the Sarawak State government to respect all aspect of human rights including the United Nation Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRI...

BY DESMOND DAVIDSON SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB), the state power company that has come under fire from foreign and domestic non-governmental organisations over its hydroelectric dam projects, has denied various claims made by NGOs over its Murum hydroelectric dam in Belaga in recent days. Calling such claims as “lies” and an attempt to create panic among the people affected by the project, SEB said it is the work of certain NGOs and outsiders to smear the image of the company, the state of Sarawak and to sabotage the concerted efforts that went into bringing development to the people. Click here to read more

By John Ahni Schertow • Sep 24, 2013 A large group of Penan Peoples have reinstated a blockade against the controversial Murum dam in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The blockade originally began in September 2012, when the Penan and Kenyah heard that they would be forced off their lands without fair compensation to make way for the dam’s reservoir. Click here to read more