Group: Be wary of sweet talk to accept Baram dam

Native rights group Save Rivers has cautioned those affected by the planned Baram dam not to be taken in by sweet talk to accept the project.

In a statement today, Save Rivers chairperson Peter Kallang said the past experience with the Bakun dam was a bitter reminder.

“People affected by the Bakun dam were also lured with the promise of a new township in Sungai Asap. They were promised with more opportunities, good infrastructures and modern day amenities.

“But today, 70 percent of those resettled at Sungai Asap have abandoned the ‘township’ in search of a living elsewhere since they do not find it in the resettlement area as promised,” he said.

Kallang ( right ) said it was now too late for the victims of the Bakun dam whose homes are now underwater, but the same was not true for those affected by the Baram dam.

“Let us remember the saying which goes ‘once beaten twice shy’, let us learn from other people’s mistake and avoid committing them ourselves,” he said.

Kallang was responding to Sarawak Resource Planning and Environment Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hassan who had claimed that the people were warming up to the Baram dam project.

‘Not too late for solutions’

Kallang said the Sarawak government appeared to have finalised the project even before all necessary studies and consultation were completed, disregarding the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

“The focus of the proponents of the dams in Sarawak seems to be just building dams. They want to build as many dams in as little a time as possible.

“It seems that the viability of the dams, the preservation of the environment or the welfare of those affected are not paramount in the implementation of these projects,” he said.

He reminded the government that there was still strong opposition against the project, with several protests that had taken place.

“It is not too late to find solutions so as to alleviate the problems faced by those affected by the three dams, but the government is not doing anything,” he said.