The Sungai Selangor dam project is similar to 'raping and mutilating' a child, an environmental activist told participants of a World Commission on Dams (WCD) workshop in Kuala Lumpur today.

Kit Leee, who has lived with the Temuan tribe in the Sungai Selangor area for seven years, said the environmental degradation of the project would have adverse and irreversible impacts on the environment as well as on the indigenous community.

"They (the Temuan) feel victimised and yet they cannot truly voice out their opinions in this matter," he said.

There are some 370 Temuan people in two villages in the area.*

The RM2 billion project, which began early last year is scheduled to be completed in 2003.

"During the past elections, the authorities told these people that if they are not voted in, the Temuan would be deprived of their free medical services. That is a direct threat," said Leee.

He claimed the project was simply an excuse to privatise the land as there are plans for a theme park and several other eco-tourism projects.

Lacking transparency

Meanwhile, on the controversial multi-billion ringgit Bakun hydroelectric dam project in Sarawak, Sahabat Alam Malaysia's honorary-secretary, Meena Raman said the project was initiated without consulting the indigenous community in the area.

"Public participation is a key factor and the right to be heard must be given," said Meena, adding that these were stipulated under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidelines.

Before large projects involving the environment is initiated, an EIA must be carried out. The Bakun project, according to experts has uprooted close to 10,000 people in the area.

"The people are not stupid and if the public as well as the affected communities get involved, their views would hold great value,' Meena said.

She also contended that the policy and decision making process in the matter of Bakun, lacked transparency and only involved those in authority. "The decision making in Malaysia is top down and the government makes your plans for you,"said Meena.

The Bakun dam project was postponed twice, in 1989 and 1998 due to financial reasons and resumed again early this year after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that the budget for the project was slashed.

"The most important issue now is public pressure. We need to say 'no more dams'," said Meena .

Capitalist exploitation

Another speaker Colin Nicholas, told participants that building dams presented a method of changing the ways of the indigenous community and resettling them to be exploited.

"Resettlement allows for capitalist and colonial-styled exploitation of indigenous peoples and their traditional territories under the presentable guise of it being for their own benefit," he said.

Adrian Goh, a research analyst who has studied the Bakun dam project for two years, also complained about the 'secrecy' that surrounds it.

"We have very little information on the project due to the state government's policy of secrecy. The Sarawak government treats it like a piece of private land.

According to Goh, those wanting to visit the site must apply for a permit from the Belanga district officer and this applies to Malaysians as well.

Meanwhile, a WCD commissioner, Joji Carino told participants that there are other viable solutions to such projects.

"We can reduce electricity use by using it efficiently. The lives of dams could also be lengthened, without having to build new ones through improved land water management and we could also encourage small scale and local approaches in supplying electricity," she said.

To date some 40 to 80 million people around the world have been displaced by such projects.

*Editor's note: The figure of the Temuan villagers affected have been corrected. We apologise for the error.