Ba'Kelalan rep: Government must conduct proper and thorough studies first before going ahead with Trusan dam construction

KUCHING, July 27, 2017 - In the event that the Trusan dam is implemented,  the government must ensure that proper and thorough surveys are carried out, including the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) statements, after full consultation with the affected communities.

Baru: Hopefully Trusan dam is another Bakun dam where many of the promises made have not been fulfilled

Ba'Kelalan state assemblyman Baru Bian said the government must assure the owners of the native customary rights (NCR) land that they will be properly compensated if their lands are affected by the construction of the Trusan dam.

"Compensation must not be based on the government’s narrow view of temuda, but on the adat of the people, which extends NCR to pemakai menoa and pulau galau," he said today when reacting to an announcement made by Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg that the state government would go-ahead with building the dam.

Baru, who is also PKR state chairman, also asked the state government to guarantee that the whole of Lawas and Ba'Kelalan areas be covered with grid power supply and proper infrastructure, including good tar-sealed roads.

"Unfortunately, in the resettlement areas of the Bakun Dam, the displaced people have been complaining of unkept promises and many are unhappy with their new lives," he said, adding that the government needs to do better in looking after the interests of the rural communities.

He said the announcement by the chief minister came as a surprise to many, including the chairman of Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) Datuk Amar Abdul Hamed Sepawi.

"We did not expect that the government would still plan to build more dams, especially since its previous policy was not to pursue any more dam-building now that Sarawak has Bakun dam," he said, recalling what the late Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem had said categorically that there was no need for more big dams, and his statement was widely reported.

He said it appears that the words of the late Adenan carry little weight now, and the assurances made by his government count for nothing.

Baru recalled that in the November sitting of the state assembly, he had asked Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan on the status of the then-proposed two dams in Lawas and Trusan, the reply was that "both dams are still in the feasibility study stage."

According to Awang Tengah, when the projects reach the next stage, then full Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) will be conducted.

"To my surprise, I read yesterday that Hamed Sepawi had said that the feasibility studies for the Trusan Dam were completed 4 years ago.

"I would be interested to know what the actual situation is with regard to how the decision was made to build the dam, and what sort of studies had been done in the past.

"When even the SEB chairman expressed surprise, one wonders whether it was a decision made on impulse without consulting other stakeholders and experts," Baru said.