Baram HEP Dam benefits outweigh protests, says Ngau
KUCHING: The truth about the Baram hydroelectric power (HEP) Dam is that it will affect only less than 25 of the 400 villages and longhouses in the whole of Baram area and the number of people affected directly by the project is estimated to be less than 10,000.
Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau said with the implementation of the Baram HEP Dam, all the people of Baram area numbering some 60,000 will benefit from the infrastructure projects, especially roads and amenities, which will be implemented along with the dam.
“The benefits of the proposed Baram HEP Dam for the people of Baram area far outweigh the noises made by the few opposition and NGO members.
“Thei r ( NGOs) negat ive campaigns both in the country and overseas seem to make the proposed dam look like as if it affects the whole Baram area and that it would not benefit the people at all.
“This is absurd as I have said many times that the proposed Baram HEP Dam wi l l bring about tremendous development to the area. This includes the proposed resettlement scheme to be implemented at Bandar Baru Telang Usan which will be built at the dam lake site,” Ngau told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
He also explained that out of the 10,000 affected people, the majority of them had agreed that the project be implemented.
“We have shown the proposed resettlement scheme to the affected people and they are happy with it as it will be much better than previous resettlement schemes,” he added.
Ngau was rebutting an online news portal which quoted Save Rivers Youth wing’s acting chairperson Henry Sigau alleging that Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang had deliberately lied to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak with his claim that only three persons, one each from Long Ekang, Long Lama and Long Laput, objected to the implementation of the Baram HEP Dam.
Henry had said that the inaccuracy of Jabu’s statement was proven by the thousands who, over these few years, had taken part in signature campaigns, public demonstrations and letters to the prime minister and the deputy prime minister, and the Youth wing of Save Rivers Network Sarawak.
“In addition, there were protest meetings and ral lies held at various places in Baram, other parts of Sarawak, in Peninsular Malaysia and right before the Malaysian Parliament,” Henry was quoted as saying.
Henry alleged that Jabu had lied to the prime minister during the latter’s visit to Long Silat in Upper Baram on June 2.
The proposed project would cost some RM4 billion to implement, with a generating capacity of 1,200 MW.
The project is now undergoing advance social and environmental impact assessment (SEIA) studies which would be submitted to the state government together with the proposed Baleh HEP dam by the fi rst quarter of next year for further deliberation.