Delegates to the 2014 ASEAN Power Week Warned: Do Not Invest in Mega-Dams Kuala Lumpur - Over 150 Indigenous People from Pahang, Kelantan, Sarawak, Sabah and Kuala Lumpur gathered at the KL Convention Centre (KLCC) to issue a joint warning to the 2014 ASEAN Power Week sponsors and delegates to withdraw and stay away from planning or investing in mega-dams. Sarawak Energy Bhd plans to build anything between 11 to 50 more large hydropower dams in Sarawak; however these projects have devastating ecological impacts, inundating vast areas of forests and unique riverine environments. There is no need for this gigantic power development: the Bakun Dam is not functioning at full capacity because of lack of demand, while construction of the Murum Dam has also been recently completed but is yet to generate any power, explains Peter Kallang from SAVE Rivers. Kallang is in Kuala Lumpur with 13 other representatives from communities that will be affected by the proposed Baram and Pelagus Dams. According to Thomas Jalong president of the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia (JOAS), Mega-dams violate fundamental human rights by forcing Indigenous Peoples off their customary lands and into resettlement sites where people experience deplorable conditions of impoverishment, joblessness and hunger. The threat of mega-dams to Indigenous Peoples livelihoods and ecological biodiversity is not only in East Malaysia, but also in Peninsular Malaysia. Over 100 Indigenous People from Pahang, Selangor and Kelantan joined the protest at the KLCC, echoing the same sentiments as Kallang. The series of events taking place at the KLCC as part of “ASEAN Power Week” are bringing together representatives of energy, financial, consultancy and engineering firms that are - or may consider - supporting hydropower projects in Malaysia. These firms risk becoming complicit in violating the constitutional rights to property and life of affected families, environmental crimes and unethical business practices because there is broad community opposition to planned dams in Malaysia, a lack of evidence of energy demand, irreplaceable ecological diversity at the targeted sites, and widespread practices of corruption in the dam-building industry. “We do not agree to mega-dams. Forcing us to move from our customary land is akin to destroying us as a people. For us, as Indigenous Peoples, we depend on our ancestral land for our livelihood, sustenance and spiritually and is therefore essential for our well-being and identity ,” added Jeffry bin Hassan from Pos Lanai, one of the villages threatened by the proposed Telom dam. In a joint statement distributed during the protest at KLCC, community representatives called on two of the sponsors of ASEAN Power Week, Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), to respect the provisions of Malaysia’s constitution and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by immediately withdrawing their proposals for the Baram Dam and Telom Dam, and halting all of their dam-project bidding processes, land acquisition and preparatory site work—including logging. For more information: savesarawakrivers; savesabahrivers; joasmalaysia.org
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 07:38:39 +0000
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