Residents of Sungai Asap in Belaga welcome the presence of Sarawak DAP as they believe its elected representatives will help them raise the problems caused to them by the Bakun hydroelectric dam.

According to a political observer, the large number of people attending the opening of the DAP service centre at Sungai Asap on Sunday bears testimony to the support given to the party by the local people.

Sungai Asap has been besieged by “dam-made troubles” affecting about 10,000 indigenous people comprising mainly the Kayan, Kenyah and Penan communities, said the political observer.

The RM7.3 billion Bakun dam, impounded in October 2010, forced the natives to be relocated to Sungai Asap as their longhouses and villages and some 5,695 square miles of their ancestral lands had been submerged, said the political observer.

However, their relocation to Sungai Asap has created more miseries and problems; some even claiming that the promises of better life and compensation had not been fulfilled.

Miseries remain unsolved

It is most pitiful that their problems have not been adequately raised up by the BN representatives, either in the state assembly or in Parliament, resulting in their miseries remaining unresolved, said the political observer

For this reason the residents of Sungai Asap hope their problems would be raised by the DAP elected representatives in the state assembly or in Parliament.

In launching the service centre, state DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen said that the relocation of the communities had led to the beginning of their sufferings.

“It is the government that built the (Bakun) dam and resettled them to Sungai Asap. They were given only three acres of land for each household, while the government can give crony companies thousands of acres each. That is also policy,” said Chong ( right ).

He told them that a good government implements policies to solve people’s problems, but a bad government implements policies that create problems for the people.  

“Problems in Sungai Asap are created by bad policies of the BN, which puts the interest of cronies over the people’s interest,” Chong said.

He said the people had to indicate their disapproval of the BN’s policies and let BN fall in Sungai Asap in the next state election.

The DAP leader stressed that despite they living in the jungle, policies decided by politicians would affect them, nevertheless.  

Presence not to divide people

Therefore it is pertinent that the indigenous communities show concern over political developments, he said, and went on to assure them that the presence of DAP was not to divide the people, as alleged by some BN people.  

“We are here to offer to the people an alternative and our service. If the presence of a political party is to be taken as to divide and split the people, then we might as well not have elections.

“DAP believes in consistent political education and service to the people, especially during non-election time. As such, we have decided to set up the said service centre, to be operated by our Belaga pro-tem committee chairperson, Kenneth Adan Silek,” said Chong.

The opening of the service centre is part of DAP’s “go rural drive” campaign, which is an attempt to reduce the BN’s “fixed deposit” in the rural areas.

Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Masing was not available for comment on this issue.

Sungai Asap, which has a sizeable number of voters, is in the constituency of Belaga, whose assemblyperson is Liwan Lagang, a senior PRS leader.

The constituency is also within the parliamentary constituency of Ulu Rajang, whose MP is Wilson Ugak Kumbong of PRS.