|
|
Extracted from Malaysiakini
Fallout from Bakun relocation unresolved
Tony Thien
Many issues surrounding the
relocation exercise involving 1,500 Orang Ulu families following the
implementation of the multi-billion-Ringgit
He listed the problems as the
consequences of forced relocation; the non-transparent survey methods and
compensation process; poor housing conditions and forced purchase of homes;
insufficient and inaccessible land for food production; and overall decline in
quality of life.
He raised these issues at a public
hearing conducted by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity in Kuching
last Friday. The committee is headed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s
Department Bernard Dompok.
From September 1998 to July 1999,
about 10,000 people from the Kayan, Kenyah, Lahanan, Ukit and Penan communities
were relocated from 15 longhouses in traditional territories in Balui to Sungai
Asap in the Belaga District, Kapit, to make way for the Bakun Dam.
They were told that 70 percent of
the compensation money would be withheld if they refused to move to the
state-sanctioned site, while education and healthcare facilities were also to
be shut down.
“There were also widespread
complaints about the survey process to assess the value of their resources and
properties before the relocation took place,” Baru told the committee.
The Orang Ulu have
claimed the process to be non-transparent and prejudicial to their interests in
many ways. For example, the people were compensated only for their crops and
not for the land they had to leave behind.
Many remain unclear about the
price structure of the survey, Baru said, pointing out that traditional farming
and land classification methods may cause certain plots of land being left out
of the survey.
The shortage of human resources
further gave rise to allegations of “incompetent and arbitrary survey
exercises”.
Hardship all round
Another complaint was that the new
houses at Sungai Asap are small and without bedrooms, and were
constructed with low-quality materials and poor workmanship.
As a result, according to Baru,
many structures became dilapidated within a year and many families have had to
spend part of their compensation money on repairs.
“The common veranda, which is so
important for community gatherings, is much narrower. The people were made to
purchase homes at RM52,000 each - higher than even the price of a low-cost home
in
The payment was to have been
offset against the value of their old homes, but “it remains unclear how the
authorities will resolve the problem of families with homes valued below the
price of the Sungai Asap homes”.
Each family has been given only
1.2ha of land for farming - much smaller than their previous plots. The new
sites are inadequate for agriculture with some proving to be infertile, Baru
said.
He said the switch from river to
road transport and the lack of employment opportunities in the new location
have had an adverse impact on the social fabric of the communities.
“Their mobility has been reduced
severely, especially for women and the elderly,” he said, noting that some
families have to walk long distances to their farms.
“Women, most of whom
do not drive, are confined to their homes and have therefore lost their
economic independence as they can no longer could fish, collect forest
resources and continue the tradition of handicraft-making.
“Today, the communities are facing
problems in making ends meet, from settling their children's schooling expenses
to paying utility bills. Some husbands have been forced to look for jobs
elsewhere.”
As a result, Baru said, groups of
families have gone back to parts of their previous territories which they
believe will not be affected by the dam.
“Many of the school-going children
have stayed back in Sungai Asap, living in the school hostels and being under
the care of relatives,” he added.
“The incidence of alcohol
addiction is rising among certain communities, while conflicts have been
fuelled by the lack of fertile and accessible land plots for farming.”
Generating 2,400 megawatts of
power and inundating 69,000 ha of land, the Bakun Dam will be