100 Orang Asli gather at PM's office, TNB to address dam fears
Following this, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) vowed to address their concerns.
Dubbed the Kelantan Orang Asli Villages Coalition, the group...
One hundred Orang Asli villagers from Kelantan, who fear losing their ancestral land, gathered in Putrajaya to protest the construction of an RM5 billion hydroelectric power plant at Mukim Ulu Nenggiri in Gua Musang.
Following this, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) vowed to address their concerns.
Dubbed the Kelantan Orang Asli Villages Coalition, the group submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday regarding the plant that would operate with a capacity of 300 megawatts.
According to reports, the memorandum stated that smaller dams should be built instead to resolve flooding and drought problems, which the Department of Irrigation and Drainage had suggested.
The villagers from the Temiar tribe raised concerns about their ancestral home, claiming the dam would submerge four Orang Asli settlements in the area - Pos Tohoi, Pos Pulat, Kampung Wias and Kampung Bering - as well as flood 5,384ha of forest land.
Stakeholder engagement
Meanwhile, TNB said it had worked with the government and relevant stakeholders since 2015 ensuring that the project is in full compliance with the legal and regulatory requirements set by the authorities, including the Department of Orang Asli Development, and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia.
"TNB also engaged the Orang Asli and other communities directly and indirectly affected by the project numerous times.
“TNB remains focused on its primary objective to successfully implement the project and continues to ensure that the interests of our stakeholders are addressed," it was quoted as saying by Bernama.
TNB pointed out that the Nenggiri Hydroelectric Project would increase power generation from renewable energy sources and support Kelantan in its flood mitigation efforts.
The project, it said, would also deliver a positive socio-economic impact to the state by providing better access to amenities, jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities, in addition to improving irrigation resources for agriculture activities.
Previously, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Takiyuddin Hassan reportedly stated that the government had compensated affected villagers over the project.
However, Malay Mail reported that a group representative said the government only compensated each villager RM12 for every tree lost to the project, which is not enough for an Orang Asli family to shift to new settlements.
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