I live with my family in Kampong Pertak, just outside Kuala Kubu Baru. I have become very concerned with certain developments that the Jabatan Orang Asli wish to push in the catchment area of the Selangor Dam.

Just recently there have been two meetings in the Dewan of the kampong concerning the destruction of 300 hundred hectares of pristine rainforest and the planting of rubber and palm oil. I video taped both meetings.

I am very concerned about this firstly because of the impact on the Selangor dam itself. The environmental impact assessment clearly states "full dedication of the catchment would ensure that logging, agriculture and other activities within the catchment is not allowed".

The Selangor dam was built to provide the Klang Valley with drinking water but the fertilisers used in much agriculture, especially oil palm, are extremely toxic. This therefore begs the question, does the Klang Valley want such things running into their water supply?

Another concern is the way in which the JOA has carried out their research into the so-called "development of the Orang Asli". When the JOA asked how many people were in favour of the dam, the top JKK man, Uha, somehow managed to count something like 56 votes.

I however managed to count 24 votes. I have this recorded on video so I think the nicest thing we can say about Uha is he does not know how to count.

When the initial inquiry was underway, Uha and someone else were apparently told to go and find out which of the Orang Asli would be interested in the Kelapa Sawit project and to take down the IC numbers of those who were in favour of the idea. What happened was Uha went round all the houses saying "what's your IC number?"

The main argument the JOA has for wanting to plant rubber and oil palm is to bring development to the Orang Asli. When we examine various settlement projects such as certain Felda settlements where there are groups of small holders in palm oil the results have not been fruitful.

On the other hand, the area around the Selangor dam is beautiful with crystal clear mountain streams running through the forest. There is a lot of potential for eco-tourism in the area.

I quote one EIA as saying "the policy implementation strategy in Lurah Bilut appears to concentrate more on community development and social affairs in maintaining the status quo."

This approach appears to generate dependency relationships between settlers and management rather than enhancing the process through capacity building, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.

As a consequence of this 'entrenched' sense of dependency on Felda, settlers have little capacity of independent decision making and indeed seem 'helpless' to take control of their lives. This does not sound like a promising development programme.

I am not anti-development. But we must concentrate on sustainable development. The Orang Asli of Kampong Pertak already make money from pettai and durian. Why does the JOA not use this as a starting point?

At present for 100 pieces of pettai the Asli receive around RM15. Why have the JOA not helped the Asli to find better buyers for the produce that they already have?

Top quality jungle durians are sold at RM0.70 while the price in the shops is a staggering RM7-10. Why until now has the JOA not used some of its government financing to provide a lorry to transport the durians to KL and receive a worthwhile price for their durians?

Why is there still no garbage collection system in Pertak? This is only a start as, according to the EIA, for the dam eco-tourism is a sustainable money making activity that can be carried out in the surrounding area.

With eco-tourism the Asli will still be able to harvest jungle produce. There will be no logging in the catchment area and there will be no toxic fertilisers running into the dam. This will increase the income of the Asli without totally destroying their culture and their jungle produce.

I am concerned about the future, about the future of my daughter and her extended family. If all their fruit trees are chopped down, what will the children do tomorrow if there is no reasonable market price for oil palm and rubber?

The people in the village who oppose this project do not have the courage to stand up and speak out about this issue. I do however have recordings of those who oppose the project. Villagers are always worried about intimidation factors.

An informed decision must be made by the tribe. The JOA has not once explained the possible long-term effects of chopping down the surrounding forest and replacing it with oil palm and rubber.

Finally, I believe the Sultan of Selangor has just built a new lake view property on the dam. I wonder how his majesty will feel if the pristine forest behind his new house is chopped down and replaced with oil palm and rubber.