Extracted from Malaysiakini

 

Worries over Sarawak’s smelter plant project

Tony Thien
Aug 10,
07 2:24pm

 

A leading Sarawak NGO has voiced its concern over reports of the involvement of Australian mining giant Rio Tinto in the new multi-billion Ringgit aluminium smelter plant in Sarawak.

 

The Miri-based Borneo Research Institute Malaysia (Brimas), a NGO dedicated to protecting the environment and the rights of indigenous peoples, said Rio Tinto’s track record is the worrying factor

“We are deeply concerned because Rio Tinto has a bad record in industrial pollution almost everywhere it operates, especially in Eastern Indonesia where the local communities have been suffering due to its mining activities there,” Brimas programme co-ordinator Mark Bujang told Malaysiakini today.

On Tuesday, Rio Tinto Aluminium signed its initial agreement with Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s family-controlled Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMSB) to undertake a detailed feasibility study of the project being planned in Similajau outside Bintulu in
Sarawak’s northern region.

A joint venture company Sarawak Aluminium Company is being set up with the Australian-based global mining company holding 60% of the equity and CMSB the remaining 40%.

It will be able to tap the energy from the 2,400mw Bakun hydro dam which is expected to be completed between 2010 and 2011. About 1,000mw of electricity is to be used by the smelter plant.

Major health risk

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Taib said the project was expected to provide employment, directly and indirectly, to about 5,000 people and to attract investment of about RM30 billion on infrastructure.

 

Bujang said it was obvious that energy-intensive industries were needed to justify the huge government investment on the Bakun dam otherwise it would turn be a white elephant.

But the choice of a smelter plant was bad as it would cause serious pollution and become a major health risk to the people living in the surrounding areas, he added.

Bujang suggested that a public inquiry be held prior to the start of the project to get feedbacks from the people instead of listening only to one side of the opinion.

"The fact that Rio Tinto, with its well-known track record as a major industrial polluter, is involved indicated that our country’s laws are weak," he added.

 

Meanwhile Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) field officer Jok Jau told Malaysiakini that a proper assessment on the impact from the environmental, economic and social aspects should be undertaken by a neutral party in a transparent manner.

He said it was likely that with a massive project of that nature it could involve relocating the communities living close to the area of its operations.

The implementation of the Bakun project involved the resettlement of 10,000 people and many of the problems related to resettlement had not been resolved.
If it necessitated the surrounding communities to be resettled, this would add to the existing problems regarding the resettlement of people in Bakun, Jok said.

"Existing projects in Bintulu like the LNG plant were already polluting the environment the residents of Bintulu town and the surrounding areas.

‘Political cost’

"The proposed smelter plant would worsen the pollution problem," he added.

 

Opposition State Reform Party (Star) president Dr Patau Rubis said he was concerned about the cost that would have to borne by the state in financing the related development of the smelter plant project, apart from the social problems.

Describing it as ‘political cost,’ Patau said the government should be careful when it comes to spending tax-payers’ money otherwise the state would end up incurring huge losses in investment such as in 1st Silicon wafer fab located in Kuching.

Another Sarawak NGO Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) secretary-general Nicholas Munjah also expressed concern over the impact of the proposed smelter plant on the communities living within the area.

He said the authorities should look at all angles - environmental, social and economic - before proceeding with the project.

Opposition state PKR Stampin branch chairperson and legal advisor See Chee How said in a statement that the setting up of the plant must be preceded by an open and independent study into its social and environmental impacts besides the economic feasibility of the project.

The studies should then be fully disclosed to all Sarawakians and debated upon before implementation, he added.