Kaiduan Dam: 'Parangs not used to warn study team' claim
Published on: Thursday, April 23, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Villagers did not use machetes to chase away researchers who entered Ulu Papar to carry out a social impact study on the proposed Kaiduan Dam as claimed by Infrastructure Development Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan.Sabah Save Rivers (SSR) spokesperson, Mary Giun, said it is normal for villagers to have their machetes with them when they are at their farms, which was what they were doing when researchers suddenly appeared."When researchers came to Ulu Papar, they only informed village heads a day earlier about their visit. Village leaders did not have enough time to inform others about the visit aimed at conducting a social impact study.
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"It is unfair for Pairin to speak about what transpired on the ground during visits by researchers as he was not there. "It is wrong to say that we threatened the researchers. When they came the first time, they did not even have the courtesy to inform us. They just barged in and we viewed this as unethical," she said.She stressed that a soil study at a site earmarked as the wall for the dam was also carried out without knowledge of the villagers in 2010, a clear violation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) guidelines that must be fulfilled when engaging with communities.Mary said villagers felt disappointed and cheated in the manner which the studies were carried out, and they would not allow researchers to come in again.
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"I must also stress here that researchers cannot possibly represent the ministry or the State government in hearing our voices. Pairin needs to go to the ground himself," she said.During his winding-up speech at the State Assembly sitting last week, Pairin challenged Moyog Assemblyman Terence Siambun to help in doing a social impact study on the feasibility of building the dam as researchers were blocked from entering the area after being allegedly chased away by villagers.
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Pairin was quoted as saying that there was still no decision on constructing the dam as a social impact study must first be carried out and defended his earlier statements that the project is needed to ensure stable water supply in the long run. Mary, who heads the Task Force Against Kaiduan Dam, said the State government must look at alternatives to dams in ensuring stable water supply to avoid a situation where more indigenous people lose ancestral lands and their traditional ways of life, a process that is also reducing habitats for the State's diverse wildlife and plant species."We want to remind the Minister that our struggle is a serious one and we take offence at the suggestion that the government is not building dams for fun. We do not have time for games.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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