Yamani to blame for damage to virgin forest reserve in Tawau, claims MP

KOTA KINABALU: Yamani Hafez Musa who has yet to take his oath as Sipitang MP should be held responsible for the damage done to a large area of virgin forest reserve in Tawau on the pretext of building the country’s first geothermal power plant, according to Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin.

He said he had told Parliament on Wednesday that Yamani was behind the controversial Tawau Green Energy geothermal power plant project in 2013 as he was allegedly the majority shareholder.

“I have been fighting against the controversial project since five years ago when I was Sri Tanjong assemblyman.

“It had come to the end. The project was cancelled despite large area of virgin forest reserve logged and RM35 million grant spent, but there no physical project progress could be seen,” he said.

Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Yeo Bee Yin had earlier said that the geothermal power plant project in Sabah which should be operational by December 31 2017 had been scrapped.

She said the project site was now found abandoned and overgrown with weeds.

Based on her visit to the site of the project which was implemented on July 2 2015, it was found that the plant was not showing any progress.

“For example, drilling has stopped in the third quarter of 2016 and slim hole had been closed...all cabins and drilling equipment are no longer at the site, no workers were found there and the area is covered with overgrowth,” she said.

Yeo was replying to the original question by Chan during Ministers’ Question Time who wanted the government to state the status of the construction of the power plant in Apas Kiri, Tawau.