By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Nov 12: Telang Usan assemblyman Dato Dennis Ngau has rebutted Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong’s recent claim that the Sungai Tutoh Cascading Dam project lacks local support and adequate engagement with affected communities.
Dennis remarked that if Yong intends to use the alleged petition with 1,000 signatures as a yardstick to oppose the project, local representatives could easily gather 40,000 signatures in support of the project.
“This is what we know: the locals indeed agree for the government to consider the implementation of the cascading dam on the Tutoh River,” he said when debating on the Natural Resources and Environment Bill 2024 in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) sitting here today.
Responding to Yong’s claim of no engagement with local communities, Dennis stated this is completely untrue.
“The Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts (MTCP), Sarawak Energy Berhad (Sarawak Energy) and all relevant authorities have conducted multiple engagement sessions not only with village representatives and community leaders but also with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) opposing the government and political parties.
“Datuk Gerawat Gala (Marudi assemblyman) and I also attended these sessions, ready to discuss, debate and even argue with them. However, during these sessions, they remained very quiet and did not show their true colours,” he added.
Dennis also expressed confidence that the Sarawak government is conducting and proposing this project in the right way, with thorough, multi-level engagement involving community leaders and all levels of the society.
“In fact, all the statements made by Premier (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg) is done by him after he collected the facts including when he mentioned that Tutoh Cascading Dam was given the green light by the local community to go ahead with the planning. This is very true.
“We would not dare to say this if there were no statements or letters from the community, including those from my area in Telang Usan, who see this development as a necessary way to bring progress to our region,” he emphasised.
Earlier, Yong stated that there was a petition signed by nearly 1,000 impacted residents from Sungai Tutoh who protested against the construction of a hydroelectric cascading dam in the area.
“They asserted that no consultation was ever conducted, and no consent was given at the time of the announcement.
“Copies of these petitions have been presented to the Premier’s office and the local representative’s office, yet it seems their concerns have not been adequately addressed,” she said. — DayakDaily
