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dam-l TAKE ACTION: Support Indigenous People Displaced by Bakun Dam!
ACTION ALERT!! Please distribute widely.
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DISPLACED BY MALAYSIA’S BAKUN DAM!!!
10,000 Resettled Face Appalling Conditions
“It is difficult to adequately capture in words the utter desperation and
dislocation being experienced by the indigenous communities forcibly
resettled because of the Bakun project. A gaping hole has been blown in
their social fabric; their culture and their future is in serious jeopardy.
Despite the many, many warnings, this represents a gigantic failure of
planning. It is a betrayal of the indigenous people.”
-from the Final Report of the Fact Finding Mission on Bakun, June 1999
----------------------------------------------------------
We urge you to take action to support the thousands of people displaced by
the Bakun Dam in Malaysia. About 9,000 members of the Kayan, Kenyah,
Lahanan, Ukit and Penan ethnic groups were forcibly resettled from their
lands by last September, in violation of their native customary rights to
land. They were moved to Sungai Asap despite the fact that the project has
been stalled since 1997.
The native peoples who once could meet their basic requirements are today
suffering from distress, dispossession and poverty. Each family has been
given only 3 acres of land to work on which is insufficient to sustain
their livelihoods, while thousands of hectares have been given to private
plantation companies. People have been forced to use their compensation
money to pay for small, poorly built houses. Promises of free housing,
roads and electricity by dambuilders have vanished.
The social fabric of the communities has been damaged. Women can no longer
gather, farm, fish, weave, plan and participate in cultural events, and
have become increasingly frustrated and dependent on male breadwinners.
Alcoholism has increased. Unless actions are taken to address their
situation, people will face malnutrition and hunger.
We urge you to take action to support the communities fighting for just
compensation and rehabilitation. Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the
Earth Malaysia) is calling on people around the world to urge the Malaysian
Government and Sarawak State Government to set up an independent commission
to investigate and attend to all resettlement issues raised by the native
communities.
A full call to action from Sahabat Alam Malaysia follows. For more
information, please contact Meena Raman at meenaco@pd.jaring.my or Sahabat
Alam Malaysia at smidris@tm.net.my.
Thank you for your support.
Susanne Wong
International Rivers Network
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URGE MALAYSIAN OFFICIALS TO SET UP AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please write to Malaysian officials and demand the following.
1) Urge them to set up an independent commission to investigate and attend
to ALL resettlement issues raised by the native communities. The Commission
must be made up of credible members of the public who will act without fear
or favor and carry out its inquiry in a transparent and democratic manner,
with full and unhindered participation from the native communities. Its
findings must be made public.
2) Tell them to determine what the natives want and make recommendations as
to what needs to be done by the State and Federal Governments. The natives
must be allowed to decide whether they would like to remain in Asap and
have vast improvements made to their present living conditions or be
legally permitted to return home to the non-inundated areas of upriver Balui.
3) Urge the Sarawak State Government to immediately provide aid and relief
to the communities that are facing serious food shortages. Determine the
severity of the occurrence of malnutrition, especially among children and
take necessary measures to rectify the situation.
4) Urge the government to make more of the surrounding plots of land in
Asap available and fairly distributed to the natives for them to increase
their rice yield along with the production of non-staple foods like
vegetables, fruits, tubers and other food crops. The natives' customary
rights on the ancestral land in upriver Balui that will be inundated by the
dam must be returned to them so that it can be utilised for food production.
Please write to the following officials.
1. YAB Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Blok Utama, Kompleks Jabatan Perdana Menteri
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan
62502 Putrajaya
Malaysia
Tel: 603 888 1957
Fax: 603 888 3444
Email: epu@epu.jpm.my
2. YAB Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Hj. Abdul Taib b. Mahmud
The Right Honourable Chief Minister of Sarawak
Chief Minister’s Department
Tingkat 22, Wisma Bapa Malaysia, Petra Jaya
93502 Kuching, Sarawak
Malaysia
Tel: 608 249 2003
Fax: 608 244 4566
Email: webmaster@sarawak.gov.my
3. YB Datuk Leo Moggie
Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Multimedia
Kementerian Tenaga, Telekomunikasi dan Multimedia
Tingkat LG1&3, Wisma Damansara, Jalan Semantan,
50668 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: 603 257 5000
Fax: 603 252 5469
Email: aziah@ktkm.gov.my
______________________________________
REPORT OF SAHABAT ALAM MALAYSIA ON BAKUN RESETTLEMENT SCHEME -
A CALL FOR URGENT ACTION
INTRODUCTION
Despite scaling down of the Bakun HEP, the execution of the entire
resettlement programme for the natives staying by the Balui River was
continued. Native Customary Rights (NCR) on the natives' ancestral land
were extinguished and the resettlement of approximately 9,000 indigenous
people proceeded.
By September 1999, the natives from the Kayan, Kenyah, Lahanan, Ukit and
Penan ethnic groups from 15 longhouses were uprooted from their homes to
Sungai Asap, about 30km from the dam site. Numerous promises were made by
the government assuring the displaced communities that their subsequent
resettlement would bring them much benefits and there was no need to worry
or fear.
However recently, when Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) officials visited Asap,
they were totally shocked by what they saw. Our investigations showed that
the so-called assurances of benefits to be obtained have remained mere
promises that have yet to be met.
Today, the native peoples who once could meet their basic requirements are
suffering from distress, dispossession, remorse and poverty. Their
predicament in Asap needs an urgent redress; or else malnutrition and
hunger can become a reality.
Among the problems and complaints that we received are documented below.
THE PROBLEMS OF THE NATIVE COMMUNITIES
1. Unclear Survey Methods and Inadequate Compensation
Many of the natives allege that their plots of land were not accurately
surveyed before the extinguishment of their Native Customary Rights (NCR)
on the land. Some received thousands. Some much less. One individual
received RM29.60. There was little transparency in the survey methods,
which were also prejudicial against them in many ways as listed below:
· The natives have many types of land - each type has its unique
function. They claimed that not all types of their land have been
recognised or accounted for;
· Some can only tell a land's boundaries but not its size.
· Many natives were unclear about how the value of each type of crop
and cultural asset (e.g. burial grounds) was assessed. There were also
allegations of arbitrary payments.
· Some even alleged that they did lodge objections - but nobody came
to reassess their claims.
2. Longhouses Poorly Built
The houses that were built in Asap did not come free. They were valued at
RM52,000, double the price of a low-cost home in some major cities in
Peninsular Malaysia. The people did not receive cash for the compensation
of their old houses - the value was offset against the RM52,000. Should the
value of their old houses be less than that of the one in Asap, the natives
have to make up for the difference in price.
A Birmingham multinational, Bucknalls, was contracted to build the homes
and infrastructure. Here are the results:
· The wood and materials are of poor quality and workmanship. Many
families have ended up paying from their own pockets for renovations;
· The doors and walls are built of plywood. Walls were not even
varnished.
· There are no bedrooms at all.
· The floor, made from softwood has 'peep-able' gaps between the
floorboards.
· The first storey has no ceiling.
· The common veranda vital for communal activities is much narrower
with visibly rotting balustrades. In some houses stairs have partially
collapsed.
· The bathrooms and toilets are very small. Their floors have no
proper waterproofing system. In one longhouse there are large square
openings in the lower part of the bathroom walls adjoining the floor.
· The piping system leaks. It is claimed that the rain gutter for the
roof is insufficient in its size and often leaks at several spots. One
shabby gutter system hosts a large gap at its corner. The gap is on top of
the main switchboard.
· Septic tanks allegedly take in bathroom and kitchen refuse. The
result - a poor and smelly decomposition process. Effluents flow into the
river, not a sewage pond.
· The earth drains were poorly dug - the fluid is stagnant and it
stinks.
· The yard is muddy, not completed and unfit for recreation. Although
the communal yard belongs to the state - allegedly no maintenance services
have been provided.
3. Inadequate Infrastructure
There is no secondary school in Asap. The teenagers would still have to
travel a long way to the town of Belaga for their secondary education.
There is no public transport. To run errands, one has to hire private land
cruisers. Schoolchildren, the sick and the elderly suffer most. The roads
are nowhere near completion. Dusty, muddy, uneven, not tarred,
puddle-filled, holed, dangerous.
One garbage dump for each community - some families may have to walk a long
way just to dispose waste. Collection is almost non-functional.
4. Insufficient Land For Food Production
Each family is given only 3 acres of land to work on. To put food on the
plate, some have begun planting on any available land, even if it belongs
to the State.
5. Eating Rice and Salt
The natives claimed that when they first came, food items were even more
expensive. Although prices of the foodstuff have now decreased, the huge
burden is still felt - this is the first time in their lives that they have
to buy rice, meat, fish, vegetables, electricity and water. Then, the cash
ran out and the jobs did not come. (Oil palm companies only offer RM8-10 a
day.) Still - the Asap natives need to buy and buy. But when they can no
longer buy, they would have to make do.
Previously, the Ukits claimed that they were even able to sell their fish
and meat at logging camps. A one-day trip out could at least bring a RM50
profit home. Now the people cultivate, rear, gather and hunt what they can
but when times are hard, some would have to subsist on rice with salt or
Monosodium Glutamate. And times are often hard, especially to those who
have moved there the earliest.
6. Possible Malnutrition and Hunger
Traditionally, the people were practitioners of the organic and sustainable
shifting agriculture. The danger is that their 3 acres of land today may
not be able to withstand rice cultivation continuously. There is also
little aid for them - no fishponds, chicken coops or ample
hunting-gathering forests. Should there be poor rice yield and other food
shortages in the future, the occurrence of malnutrition and hunger in Asap
is certain.
The three rivers - Asap, Koyan and Penyuan, upriver tributaries of Belaga,
cannot sustain under the population pressure. Fish is scarce. Soon, it
would not be suitable for drinking, washing and bathing. Untreated sewage
effluents flow into them. The surrounding oil palm plantations may further
pollute the waters with pesticides and pollutants. Hence the scarce fish
resource may soon vanish altogether.
7. Destruction Of Social Fabric
Women lose independence
Independent Balui women are building on a new dependence to the male
breadwinners. They no longer can gather, farm, fish, weave, heal, plan and
participate in cultural events. They don't drive and boats are almost
obsolete. Idling away at home, cooking and washing - Asap women are bored,
excluded and frustrated.
Conflicts
In Asap, communal sharing cannot be practised freely. Food cannot be given
away to neighbours. Cultural events are expensive. People fight - food is
little, cash is scarce and they are desperate. In the future, they may
fight over land sizes and boundaries. Families may fight over leaving or
staying. Husbands may leave to find work. Children may compete for land
inheritance in bitterness.
Alcoholism
Many Asap citizens have begun to seek refuge in alcohol - men and women
(not traditionally heavy drinkers!), young and old. However, rice, a main
tuak ingredient, is now no longer free and plenty. When alcohol supply
decreases and the demand increases - crimes and violence will surely be
prevalent.
Vulnerable youngsters
Loafing youngsters are drinking and smoking too early, not necessarily
indulging in home-made substances. Deprived of secondary education and
traditional skills, with time to kill, distressed parents and the lure of
the commercial world, they are indeed vulnerable to self-destruction.
GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONED REVIEW HAD ALREADY WARNED AGAINST RESETTLEMENT IN ASAP
A review of the socio-economic studies and preliminary recommendations of
the resettlement, submitted to the Sarawak State Government in 1994 had
warned the Government sufficiently of the resettlement problems that would
occur in Asap. [ see report by Jerome Rousseau, J., Review of
Socio-Economic Studies and Preliminary Recommendations for the Resettlement
of the Kayan and Lahanan of the Upper Balui (1994)].
According to the study, the soil quality of Asap is mediocre, unsuitable
for cash crops. The area is too small. (About 7,000 hectares for what used
to be at least 35,000 hectares of land use.) There is no plan for
population increase. There is little supply of jungle produce and hunting
land. It warns against forcing the community into a full cash economy and
concentrating them into a few large villages. Allocate RM750 million for
resettlement costs. Plan for substitute protein sources. Resettlement must
be land based with access to forest. There must be plenty of consultations.
It recommended for the relocation to take place in upper Balui itself
because there is no need to move to Asap at all. "While the catchment area
will flood existing village sites and fields, much land is still available.
Hence, from an agricultural viewpoint, there is no reason to resettle the
people of Balui to another area."
Now with the downsizing of the dam, surely the resettlement programme in
Asap is even more unjustifiable.
"The right planning approach is first to establish the people's needs, and
then to find a site compatible with it. The reverse has been done here."
Way back in 1994, the Malaysian Government was cautioned that the people
should be allowed to stay along the enlarged Balui River or its nearby
tributaries and yet, this was ignored.
OUR APPEAL FOR ACTION
1. SAM calls on the Malaysian Government and the Sarawak State
Government to set up an Independent Commission of Inquiry to do the
following:
(i) Investigate and attend to ALL resettlement issues raised by the
native communities.
(ii) Determine what the natives want and make recommendations as to what
needs to be done by the State and Federal Governments. The natives must be
allowed to decide whether they would like to remain in Asap and have vast
improvements made to their present living conditions or be legally
permitted to return home to the non-inundated areas of upriver Balui.
(iii) Inquire into the way the resettlement site was developed,
designed, financed and contracted. These include the poor construction of
the houses and infrastructure, the lack of certain basic facilities and the
inadequate space for some key economic, cultural and social activities.
(iv) Disclose how the new houses were valued at RM52,000 and what the
value of the old homes was.
(v) Inquire into official reasons as to why the resettlement in Asap
proceeded despite the warning of the Review of Socio-Economic Studies and
Preliminary Recommendations for the Resettlement of the Kayan and Lahanan
of the Upper Balui, a report submitted to the State Planning Unit, the
Chief Minister's Department of Sarawak in 1994.
(vi) Should the Commission find any forms of irregularities,
favouritism, arbitrariness, mismanagement, abuse, non-compliance of
procedures or non-adherence to quality standards in the course of the
resettlement programme, legal action must follow against the appropriate
parties and rectification steps must be promptly pursued.
2. The Independent Commission must comprise of credible members of the
public and professionals who will act without fear or favour. It must also
ensure that the inquiry is conducted in a transparent and democratic
manner, with full and unhindered participation from the native communities.
Its findings must be made public.
3. In the meantime, the shortage of food supply must be quickly dealt
with. We urge the Sarawak State Government to look into these matters:
· Instantly provide aid and relief to the communities that are facing
serious food shortage. Determine the severity of the occurrence of
malnutrition, especially among children and take necessary measures to
rectify the situation.
· More of the surrounding plots of land in Asap must be made
available and fairly distributed to the natives for them to increase their
rice yield along with the production of non-staple foods like vegetables,
fruits, tubers and other food crops.
· Ensure that there is sustainable protein supply. Facilities and
assistance should be provided for each community so that they are able to
carry out livestock rearing or fish culture to meet local protein needs.
· The natives' customary rights on the ancestral land in upriver
Balui that will be inundated by the dam must be returned to them so that it
can be utilised for food production.
· Check on the prices of food and essentials in Asap and their
supplies so as to ensure that the people can easily afford them.
CONCLUSION
In the light of the above, and in the spirit of ensuring that the
grievances of the indigenous peoples who have been affected by the Bakun
HEP are genuinely and properly dealt with, we sincerely hope that our
appeal will be seriously considered by the relevant authorities.