by Danielle Keeton-Olsen on 2 February 2024
- Indigenous residents begin submitting petitions as Sarawak officials announce three new cascading hydropower dams throughout the state.
- While Sarawak’s chief minister appears all-in for the dam in comments, other officials say plans hang on the results of upcoming feasibility studies.
- After some villages were devastated by older dams, Indigenous residents ask officials to consult them fully or simply drop the plans.
As Sarawak’s top officials plan three new hydropower dams, seemingly eager to export more electricity, some Indigenous residents of the Malaysian Bornean state are urging officials to slow down development to properly inform everyone who will be affected.
Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg has been hinting at plans to build new dams since the end of last year, but he confirmed this month that the state plans to construct three more hydropower dams. The dams would be built in Kapit district’s Gaat River, Belaga district’s Belaga River and Baram district’s Tutoh River.
Abang Johari gave several reasons for promoting new hydropower, ranging from the expected — more power for the province — to more unconventional, notably saying that residents now use roads instead of rivers, implying they would not be negatively affected by dams, that residents asked for the dams and that cascading dams would prevent crocodile populations from increasing.
Following the announcement, more than 500 residents around the Tutoh dam site signed a petition led by the Miri-based NGO SAVE Rivers, calling for more information about the cascading dam project and an assessment of potential environmental impacts.