Go for small dams, Mahathir tells Sarawak government

KUCHING, Jan 27, 2015: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he prefers Sarawak to build a smaller, not mega, dams as being proposed by the state government.

"Mega dams destroy the environment,  forests, inundate large areas of land and displace many people," he said in his keynote address at the opening of the International Energy Week 2015 here.

Sarawak, under former Chief Minister Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud, had plans to build 12 mega dams which are capable of generating about 30,000MW of electricity.

Only Batang Ai dam (100MW)  is in operational while Murum dam (944MW) has just been completed.

The next dams  to be built will be the Baleh (1,295MW) and then Baram dam (1,200MW).

Baram dam is expected to displace about 20,000 people in the deep interior of Baram in Miri Division while the Baleh dam is affecting only over 1,000 people, residing near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.

However, no date has been fixed when these two dams are to be constructed.

Bakun dam (2,400MW), which was built by the federal  government, is already in operational.

Mahathir said Sarawak should take a look at some European countries, like Austria and Denmark, which have been successful in building smaller dams.

"These countries have been making full  use of their rivers to build smaller dams," he said.

When asked by reporters later, Mahathir said he had received a letter from  SAVE Rivers network, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) known for its strong opposition against the proposed construction  dams,, asking him to persuade the state government from going ahead with the Baram dam.

But he said he is not going to meet SAVE Rivers representatives.

Meanwhile, on the occasion of International Energy Week (IEW), people representing diverse communities from across Sarawak are gathering here today to discuss the socio-economics of power development.

They will be considering alternative perspectives on the opportunities for ensuring socio-economic development, including of the power sector, will serve the long term energy needs of ordinary Malaysians.

The all day citizen’s meeting starting at 9.00 am, entitled “Indigenous People’s Conference” and hosted by Save Rivers Network and Gerakan Anak Sarwak (GASAK) is held at the Grand Continental Hotel in Kuching, simultaneous to the IEW meeting hosted by the Sarawak Government at the Borneo Convention Centre.

“We know it’s technologically and economically feasible to power up all of Sarawak, while making sure there are good jobs and keeping our forests and free-flowing rivers intact,” explained Thomas Jalong from Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JAS)

Organizers of the citizen’s conference have reached out to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the keynote speaker at the BCC, to endorse a broad and inclusive vision of power development, one that all Malaysians will benefit from.

“Today, we will be articulating a sustainable future we want to see, one which will mean that the youth and the generations to come will still be able to see for themselves the rich biodiversity of Sarawak’s river ecosystems, but also have equitable access to schools, clinics and other basic infrastructure.

"We want to see our communities be leaders in micro-hydro, wind, solar and other innovative technologies, while still preserving our land, the heritage that has been passed on by our ancestors,” said Caroline Nyurang of Save Rivers Youth wing.

“We believe we can make the shift beyond technologies of the past that destroy entire river basins and flood vast areas of forests, villages and customary lands in the name of development and progress. The time for that shift is now, “asserted Peter Kallang from SAVE.