A group of Orang Asli went on a ‘memorandum marathon’ today to push for the cancellation of two hydroelectric power projects, which they claim encroach  into their customary lands.

As at noon today, the delegation of about 50 had completed their task at national power company Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s headquarters in Bangsar and were off to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, both in Putrajaya.

NONE They hail from 17 villages and handed over three separate memoranda to TNB about 11am, stating their opposition to hydroelectric power projects in Ulu Jelai and in Ulu Telom, both in Cameron Highlands. Identical memoranda are slated to be delivered in Putrajaya later today.

One memorandum deals directly with the dam construction in Ulu Jelai, while another deals with the planned Ulu Telom dam. A third memorandum is from Tapah villagers and deals with the power lines from Ulu Jelai that run through their areaa.

“We didn’t know the other groups were facing the same problem because they come from different places. If we had discussed this earlier, we could have sent in just one memorandum.

NONE “They contacted us just this morning. Maybe they had found out that we are coming here and wanted to tag along,” said the group’s spokesperson, Seman Bahtom, who also chairs three separate village councils around Cameron Highlands.

All three memoranda state that the local residents were not consulted about the respective projects.

The memorandum prepared by the Ulu Jelai group states that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) done for the Ulu Jelai dam says that their villages are “threatened” by the project.

“Some 2,000 villagers from Kampung Teji, Kampung Renglas and Kampung Pinang are not sure whether they need to move or not as a result of the Ulu Jelai dam construction.

“Although they have asked TNB officers about this issue several times, no concrete response is forthcoming... Why is TNB hiding this issue?” the memorandum states.

In addition, the villagers claim construction works have polluted water sources with silt, while the air is filled with dust, especially during dry weather.

‘Markers for power lines already placed’

Meanwhile, a representative from Tapah said construction works for the power lines in the area have yet to start, but markers have already been placed to mark the path.

“Our land has been encroached by TNB,” said the representative, Kong Yoke Sun, about the markers.

“The graves would be gone. The customary and sacred lands, too. We are concerned because that is our only right. If we lose the land, we lose our livelihood.

“That is why we are taking action,” Kong said, explaining that he is of mixed Sino-aboriginal descent.

The memorandum from the Pos Lanai village expresses similar concerns in relation to their land and the Ulu Telom dam project upstream.

The memoranda were received by TNB representative Adelina Iskandar outside the gates of TNB’s headquarters.

Adelina told the Orang Asli group that she would obtain an official response to their memorandum.