In the last leg of its Australian anti-dam campaign tour, NGO Save Sarawak's Rivers Network (Save Rivers) is set to meet with energy company Hydro Tasmania tomorrow to seek full disclosure of the latter’s involvement in Sarawak mega-dam projects.

Save Rivers chairperson Peter Kallang and Baram village head James Nyurang are among the group who will meet with Hydro Tasmania chief executive officer Roy Adair, in Launceston, Tasmania in a scheduled hour-long meeting, where the group is expected to seek a commitment from Hydro Tasmania to withdraw its staff currently in Sarawak.

NONE They will also hope, according to a statement by Swiss-based environmental NGO Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), to pressure the Tasmanian government-owned company to sever ties with Sarawak Energy Bhd and state Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s ( right ) plans in the construction of several controversial hydroelectric dams throughout the state.

Hydro Tasmania acts as a consultant for Abdul Taib’s government on several of the projects, including the Bakun Dam and is claimed to be providing skilled manpower to Sarawak Energy through its subsidiary, Entura.

The group is also set to meet with Tasmania deputy premier Bryan Green, also on Monday, to discuss Hydro Tasmania's involvement in Sarawak and the Tasmanian government’s role in the matter.

These meetings are part of many lined up for the Sarawak anti-dam campaigners in Tasmania and other states such as Canberra, Hobart, Launceston and Melbourne, as they fight against 12 proposed mega-dams in Sarawak, including at least one ongoing blockade of the road leading to the Murum Dam construction site.

Aside Kallang and Nyurang, other participants in the Australian tour include 12 members of the Sarawak indigenous community.

'Misrepresentation of facts'

Meanwhile, in its statement, BMF further accuses Hydro Tasmania of being defensive and claims it is now trying to downplay its involvement in the Sarawak dams scheme for fear of the consequences of the media fallout from the campaign, based on a media release by the company.

NONE In the release , available on its website and dated Nov 27, Hydro Tasmania slammed Save Rivers’s campaign, especially the allegations leveled against the company in regards to the Baram Dam project, claiming it to be “materially inaccurate” and represents a “significant misrepresentation of facts”.

The company quoted Adair who declared Hydro Tasmania was "not involved in flooding rivers and displacing indigenous peoples. We are not providing consultancy services on the Baram Dam project".

Calling itself a “small player” in the Sarawak hydropower project, the company, however, acknowledges five of its “people” are on secondment in Sarawak and said this number will be reduced to four by the year-end.