Kota Kinabalu: Frustration over the "many unsustainable developments" arising in the State has compelled a group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to form a civil society coalition.Guas is a coalition of NGOs, namely Greenfriends Sabah, Pacos Trust, Sabah Women's Action Group (Sawo), Sabah Environmental Protection Association (Sepa), Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia (Joas), Sabah Environmental Trust (SET), Save Open Spaces Kota Kinabalu (SOS KK) and Himpunan Hijau.Sepa President Lanash Thanda said they decided to come together as they were worried of the many development projects happening which "were not adhering to the rule of law and the procedures set."ADVERTISEMENT Among the few projects that the coalition is working on is the prawn farm project in Pitas about which she said, they received complaints from the community that there was clearing of mangrove areas outside the designated areas.Although proper complaints have been filed to respective departments and the company had been penalised by the Environment Protection Department (EPD), Lanash said according to the communities there, clearing is still ongoing. "In a sense they are opening these areas out without a proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), that's number one but the companies don't seem to care anymore, they are just opening up and this is a serious issue because Sabah has never been in this state before." She said the project was a contentious issue as well because the project EIA was initially unanimously rejected at a panel review meeting in June 2014.The panel, which consisted of government agencies and NGOs, decided the facts in the EIA were insufficient. ADVERTISEMENT However, the decision was later overturned by the director, said Lanash. But a statement was released later by the EPD Director that he was not obliged to refer any matters back to the EIA Review Panel before a final decision is made in approving an EIA. Datuk Yabi Yangkat had cited Section 12D(1) of the Environment Protection Enactment 2002, which stipulates that the EPD director was empowered to approve an EIA report even if no Review Panel meeting was held.
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"The problem is when you have a panel review already rejecting an EIA, you cannot then overturn a decision without going through due process. There was no process. That's what the NGOs are saying now," she said. She said the communities at the areas were affected as they were now not allowed to cross the river to collect their source of protein such as clams and crabs. Another project that the coalition is also working on is the proposed Kaiduan Dam. She said no documentation has been provided to objectively demonstrate whether or not the dam was essential in order to provide future piped water supplies for western Sabah. Lanash said since the project was in planning seven years ago, the community was not visited by any government officials until very recently. "Very little consultation was done with the community prior to the (project). They (government officials) have not engaged with the community in any way so the community have taken a stand as in saying no dam."She said this was a flaw in the planning process as engaging with the community to get sustainable development should be focal.Lanash also said another issue the coalition was fighting for was the degazettement of a Class I Forest Reserve in 2013 to make way for a proposed gold mining project close to Tawau Hill Park.She said the Terms of Reference (ToR) for this proposal have been rejected twice at the Panel review meetings chaired by EPD while a third ToR is going to be tabled at a Panel meeting on July 1. To this issue, she said the coalition questions why was the Forest Reserve de-gazetted for a proposal that lacked an EIA. They also question the wisdom of the project after the Mamut Copper Mine having brought lasting environmental disaster to the State. Meanwhile, the coalition also calls for the EIA consultants to be more of a separate body rather than to be under the company payroll.Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Sabah-based council member S.M. Muthu said a way to address the issue is by creating an escrow account that the government or EPD is made in charge of where the project proponent would bank in the money and the EPD would get the EIA consultant to monitor the projectThis would, he said, make the consultant not subservient to the paymaster and thus be able to project a professional document without bias. SET Chief Executive Officer Dr Rahimatsah Amat, on the other hand, said an ongoing issue with the EIA is there were projects known to be happening on the ground but the EIA was still being discussed.He said this was a significant issue as although there was EIA approval these approvals only came after the projects were already on the way.He also said EIA should be made responsible for their reports even after the project has been completed.Lanash said the coalition also demands for the master EIA to be completed before companies conduct EIA for projects carried out in a big area so that the cumulative effect of the area is known.She also said the coalition applauds the recent 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020) that was unveiled by the Prime Minister as being pro-growth, pro-people, pro-business, environment-friendly with emphasis on nation building. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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She said they approve this statement as they were all for environmentally friendly projects but fixing environments after they are exploited and damaged is not only a costly exercise but a long process. She said they should instead focus on protecting the existing environment now and focus on development in areas that were already an environmental and cultural heritage.