ANTIDOTE Facts and figures sometimes tell a story better than flowery flourishes or alluring alliteration.

The Sarawak Report investigative reporting website examines a leaked government-commissioned report on the Murum Hydroelectric Dam, in the upper reaches of a tributary of the Rejang, which is Malaysia's longest river.

It mentions casually that eight villages - one Kenyah and six Penan communities - which are being forced to resettle because of the dam, live far below the official poverty line.