Hydro Tasmania confirms involvement in dam constructions in Sarawak

Roy Adair, CEO of Hydro Tasmania, confirms company's involvement in controversial Malaysian rainforest dam constructions

Aug 24, 2012: (HOBART, TASMANIA) Roy Adair, the CEO of Australian state-owned energy provider Hydro Tasmania, said yesterday his company had no audits in place to prevent Hydro Tasmania’s participation in projects in Sarawak.

In an interview with the Australian ABC Radio, Adair admitted that only general “pre-bid checks” were done on Sarawak Energy, a Malaysian dam builder and business partner, prior to Hydro Tasmania’s engagement in a “100 billion dollar” energy project in Sarawak.

He said that “not so much auditing” on Sarawak Energy had been done.

Sarawak Energy is owned by the Malaysian state of Sarawak and chaired by Hamed Sepawi, a cousin and close business associate of long-term Sarawak Chief Minister, Taib Mahmud.

In an attempt to downplay Hydro Tasmania’s involvement in Sarawak’s dam building spree, Adair said his company role was “relatively minimal” as it was only earning 3 million (Australian) dollars from its Sarawak projects.

However, Adair failed to acknowledge the central role played by Hydro Tasmania engineers such as Andrew Pattle, who has been the Project Director of the 944 MW Murum dam, which is currently under construction, and has been appointed as the Senior Project Manager for another two proposed dams, Baram (1,200 MW) and Baleh (1,400 MW).

The Sarawak dam building spree has drawn heavy criticism from indigenous associations and environmental organisations.

The Baram dam alone would displace 20’000 Sarawak natives and flood over 400km2 of tropical rainforests.

Yesterday, the Tasmanian Greens called on the Tasmanian Minister for Energy “to recall all of its employees currently involved in environmentally and socially destructive dam building practices in Malaysia.“

Without the expertise of foreign consultants such as Hydro Tasmania, Sarawak Energy would not be in a position to realize its controversial dam plans.

Oil royalty: Why want to negotiate with PM in private, Baru asks Taib

Kuching, Aug 24, 2012:  Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian said today he is curious why Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud wanted to discuss the oil royalty for Sarawak with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in private.

“I am curious that Taib should think royalty negotiations are better done in private. Why is that so? The oil and gas in Sarawak is not the property of the chief minister as it belongs to all the people of Sarawak, hence we have a right to know what is being discussed,” Baru said at a press conference.

He said that a proposal to increase oil royalty payments for Sarawak is most pertinent at the moment.

“We in Pakatan Rakyat have calling for the government to review and increase the royalty from 5 % to 20 %. This is one of the issues we have put up in our election manifesto,” he said.

Baru, flanked by Sarawak PKR secretary Stanny Embat (left) and National Wanita vice head Voon Shiak Ni, at the press conference.

Nevertheless, he welcomed the announcement by Taib who stated that the royalty should be increased.

“But why is it only now that the chief minister is agreeing to pursue the matter? One can’t help but think that it is because this is an issue very close to the hearts of the people, an issue which Pakatan Rakyat has promised to address.

“Obviously there has been no political will on the BN government’s part over the last 30 or so years to seek a fairer share of the royalty until now when they are realizing there is a real possibility that the rakyat will vote them out in the coming elections,” he said.

He said that Sarawak has been lagging behind Peninsular Malaysia in every aspect “you care to name”, be it roads and infrastructure, education, healthcare, jobs, transportation, industry and development.

“One could say that Peninsular Malaysia and many individuals have prospered or benefitted via Petronas at our expense.

“Sarawakians now say ‘Kini masa balas budi’ to quote a line from the infamous BN Merdeka theme song 2012.

“We want to know what the Chief Minister intends to do about it, and we remind him that he is a servant of the people and is accountable to them.

“The former PM, in a Freudian slip, had referred to the current administration as the ‘devil’ and the opposition as the ‘angel’.  That in itself says it all,” Baru said.

“I trust that the rakyat are astute enough to judge for themselves whether to choose more of the same or to give themselves the hope of a better and brighter future with the Pakatan Rakyat,” he added. By Sematong Express

Not the people, but the corrupt BN leaders who will be in perilous position when PR comes to power, Baru says

Kuching, Aug 24, 2012: If there are people who will be in a perilous position when Pakatan Rakyat PR) comes to power after the upcoming general election, they will be the corrupt and guilty Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders.

“They will not be the people who support and vote for the PK, but those BN leaders,” Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian told reporters today.

Baru, who is also the Ba’Kelalan State Assemblyman, was commenting on remarks made by Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing in a local newspaper yesterday.

Masing was said to have remarked that it would be a political suicide to give 0pposition PK a test mandate to govern the country while giving his support to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir’s statement that giving the opposition the mandate to rule would be dangerous as many things could be destroyed.

Baru said today:” Yes, it would be perilous indeed when the Opposition takes over from the BN. Exceedingly perilous for those who have the most to lose, those who have taken advantage of their positions of authority to enrich themselves at the expense of the people, who have remained poor and stagnant for the past 50 years.

“Perilous for the BN elite who done nothing of substance to advance the lot of the common people but who resort to giving away insubstantial sums of money nearing election time in the guise of the ‘caring’ government.

“It is perilous for the corrupt politicians and their families who have their greedy hands in every project and contract even though they do not know the first thing about the business concerned.

“(It will be) imminently catastrophic for the selfish leaders and their cronies who have taken away the lands of the natives, cut down their trees for profit of billions of ringgit and drowned the lands in their insatiable quest for even more wealth, all in the name of ‘development’.

“These are the people who will see the destruction of their parasitic way of life and easy money as they have known it.

“Their misdeeds will be revealed just as the cowgate and Scorpene scandals were uncovered,” Baru said, adding that investigations will be carried out on these people and their leader, a man and his family members who are said to be stakeholders in more than 400 companies in 25 countries, worth several billion US dollars, robbed from the people of Sarawak.

Baru pledged that there will be no witch-hunting against BN leaders when PR comes to power.

“We will just allow the process of law to take its course. This country is governed by the rule of law so we will let the law to takes its course,” he explained, saying that PK’s policy is based on justice and that is what the people want to see.

He said that the Attorney-General has to discharge his duties in accordance with the law when investigating corrupt practices and abuse of power against those involved in such practices.

Baru said the people, therefore, have nothing to lose by giving a mandate to the Opposition.

“They have already lost their lands, their livelihood, their pride, their chance for advancement and now their patience with a government lacking accountability and transparency.

“The BN government has had 50 years to run the country and if indeed they have done such a sterling job, they should have nothing to worry about and that they should be able to let the record speak for them.

“Unfortunately for them, among their more memorable achievements are a dangerously high national debt, a soaring crime rate (and a police force that manipulates the statistics to fit the KPI), a rakyat fearful for their safety, a culture of rent seeking, cronyism and corruption, ministers mired in kickback scandals, murder allegations, bailout of family companies using public funds and many more of similar unpalatable nature.

“In contrast to that, the PR is offering the very positive track record of the Opposition-run states and the promise to put in place a Federal Government that is competent, accountable and transparent. 

“That is why are we now seeing BN politician after BN politician, day after day in the mainstream press trying to instill fear into the rakyat by giving silly warnings about what would happen if there is a new government.

“The rakyat are now mature enough to discern that the current crop of leaders does not have sound policies to sell nor any track record to back them up, hence they resort to selling fear.

“After all, fear is in plentiful supply within the BN clique, and the fearful are eager to spread the fear.

“However, in their attempt to do so, they come across as tired defenders of a government that has let the people down time and again.

“Even now, in their bid to restore some credibility, the Najib administration has nothing original to offer but instead has been implementing or promising to implement policies borrowed from the Pakatan Rakyat manifesto.

“Examples are the abolishment of the ISA, the implementation of the RCI on illegal immigrants in Sabah and ‘Project IC’ and the proposal to lower car prices,” Baru said. By Sematong Express.