Wednesday November 4, 2009
Despite protests, construction of the Murum Dam goes into full gear
By STEPHEN THEN
MURUM: There is no stopping the construction of Murum Dam now, it would seem.
The RM3bil hydro-electric dam project in Belaga district in central Sarawak will unlikely be halted despite ongoing protests from environmental activists and the 2,800 affected natives.
Construction had already gone into full-gear, the site and access roads into Murum had been cleared, the Malaysian-China contractor had been hired for building the main dam wall, the contract signed and the workers deployed to the site.
A view of the Murum Valley which will be flooded to create an 80m-high reservoir for the Murum Dam. (inset) A sign post erected near the valley signalling the construction of the RM3bil Murum Dam is in progress. By Stephen Then / The Star The Star visited Murum and found that signposts and road signs erected all over Murum, a crystal-clear indication that the state government was going ahead full-steam with the project despite desperate attempts by concerned folk to stop the construction works.
The Land and Survey Department had already classified the entire Murum Valley as state-acquired land.
It is understandable that the Murum natives are angry. The project had been carried out without their consent and they have to vacate their ancestral home.
They will lose their farms and native customary land. In September, 14 longhouse chiefs from Murum and a group of activists from several environmental watchdog groups staged a peaceful protest in front of the Chief Minister’s Office in the state capital.
That attempt was futile. Not only did the Chief Minister’s Office staff refused to meet the protestors, they called the police.
An uncertain future: The lives of the Murum natives hang in the balance with the construction of the dam. The natives are now contemplating legal action to halt the Murum Dam construction, but past experience has shown that this too will be futile in the end.
“We will continue to do what we can to try to stop the project. The affected residents are looking at all available avenues,” said Raymond Abin, director of Sarawak Conservation Action Network, a coalition of more than a dozen NGOs from the state as well as the rest of Malaysia.
While they may want to continue their protests and legal actions, the affected folks must prepare for the worst.
They will sooner or later be forced to move out from Murum Valley and the banks of Murum River because the entire region will be flooded to create a 35,000ha reservoir. The Murum Dam is expected to be completed by 2013 to generate 900MWs of power.
The protests and legal suits will only delay the project or disrupt it temporarily. The state will not bow to such pressure, as demonstrated by the Bakun and Batang Ai hydro-electric dams.
The activists should give more attention to helping the affected folk secure a better compensation package.
The affected residents must be united and must firmly demand for better housing facilities at the resettlement sites with free housing units, free electricity and water supply, proper roads, public transportation, schools, clinics, written guarantees of land titles and assurance of jobs from the Murum Dam development.
Related Stories:
Unimas calls for rescue mission of animals threatened by Murum Dam
Source:
RSS
