Even before the problem-ridden Bakun dam in Sarawak can be completed, Malaysian officials are tabling plans to build two more hydroelectric dams in the area, one of which would make Bakun look puny by comparison.

Questions about the necessity for such dams, how the surplus electricity will be used, the resettlement of indigenous people and development of catchment areas seem low on the list of the government's concerns.

The 2,400-megawatt turbines powered by the Bakun dam on the Balui River could start churning by 2009, but planners are still mulling over what to do with all that excess electricity.