Taib told he is out of touch with the feelings and sentiments of the Baram people

Miri, Aug 22, 2012:  Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud has been accused of being out of touch with the feelings and sentiments on the ground pertaining to Baram Dam which the state government wants to build.

About 20,000 Orang Ulus will be displaced and affected by the construction of the dam.

Save Sarawak's Rivers Network (SAVE Rivers) and Baram Protection Action Committee (BPAC) asked the long-serving chief minister to meet the people and find out their feelings and sentiments against the construction of the dam.

"He is only listening to some community leaders and Barisan Nasional elected representatives who are giving false information to him that all the people in Baram agree to Baram dam project," BPAC chairman Philip Jau said in a statement today.

"We suggest that Taib to go and make a surprise visit to Sungai Asap as well as the Penans living in Murum and the communities that are going to be affected by Baram Dam in order to get a first hand feel of the real situation on the ground instead of making statements saying that everything is alright and people are happy with the dam projects," Jau told Taib.

He said SAVE Rivers and BPAC totally disagreed with Taib that the proposed Baram Dam is vital for the Baram's future.

“He is right in saying that the Baram Dam is vital for the future of Baram, but the future he is painting looks very bleak as far as the people of Baram is concerned”, Jau said..

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“I can safely say that the reality on the ground is most of the people in Baram do not want the dam as they have seen and heard about the hardships and the unresolved problems that the people of Batang Ai and Bakun faced”, Jau stressed.

“Even in Murum, the Penans affected by the Murum Dam are not happy with the way the government is treating them. How can Taib say that the people of Murum are okay?” he asked.

Chairman of SAVE Rivers, Peter Kallang refuted Taib's claim that Baram is half empty and Baram needs the dam in order to attract people who had migrated to towns to come back.

“Taib should ask himself why Baram is empty”, Kallang said.

“Since the 1970s, the timber in Baram has been exploited and many of the timber companies and those connected to the timber industry made money. However, not much of the revenue from the timber industry went back to develop the Baram District.

“Baram still lacks the basic infrastructures for it to progress and most of its natural resources such as timber and land have been exploited without much had been given back to the locals and that is why people in Baram migrated elsewhere to look for a better living”, Kallang explained.

He  went on to explain that in the Sungai Asap Resettlement Scheme, the unemployment rate is quite high.

“Half of the people resettled in Sungai Asap have left to look for better jobs elsewhere.

“For the other half that stayed, half of that have gone back to their original lands or living on jelatongs (floating houses).

“Most of the lands surrounding Sungai Asap are leased out to timber and plantation companies, making it more difficult for the people there to farm and earn a decent living”, Kallang claimed. By Sematong Express.