INTRODUCTION

Despite scaling down of the Bakun HEP, the execution of the entire resettlement programme for the natives staying by the Balui River was continued. Native Customary Rights (NCR) on the natives' ancestral land were extinguished and the resettlement of approximately 9,000 indigenous people proceeded.

By September 1999, the natives from the Kayan, Kenyah, Lahanan, Ukit and Penan ethnic groups from 15 longhouses were uprooted from their homes to Sungai Asap, about 30km from the dam site. Numerous promises were made by the government assuring the displaced communities that their subsequent resettlement would bring them much benefits and there was no need to worry or fear.

However recently, when Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) officials visited Asap, they were totally shocked by what they saw. Our investigations showed that the so-called assurances of benefits to be obtained have remained mere promises that have yet to be met.

Today, the native peoples who once could meet their basic requirements are suffering from distress, dispossession, remorse and poverty. Their predicament in Asap needs an urgent redress; or else malnutrition and hunger can become a reality.

Among the problems and complaints that we received are documented below.

THE PROBLEMS OF THE NATIVE COMMUNITIES

1. Unclear Survey Methods and Inadequate Compensation

Many of the natives allege that their plots of land were not accurately surveyed before the extinguishment of their Native Customary Rights (NCR) on the land. Some received thousands. Some much less. One individual received RM29.60. There was little transparency in the survey methods, which were also prejudicial against them in many ways as listed below:

• The natives have many types of land - each type has its unique function. They claimed that not all types of their land have been recognised or accounted for;
• Some can only tell a land's boundaries but not its size.
• Many natives were unclear about how the value of each type of crop and cultural asset (e.g. burial grounds) was assessed. There were also allegations of arbitrary payments.
• Some even alleged that they did lodge objections - but nobody came to reassess their claims.

2. Longhouses Poorly Built

The houses that were built in Asap did not come free. They were valued at RM52,000, double the price of a low-cost home in some major cities in Peninsular Malaysia. The people did not receive cash for the compensation of their old houses - the value was offset against the RM52,000. Should the value of their old houses be less than that of the one in Asap, the natives have to make up for the difference in price.

A Birmingham multinational, Bucknalls, was contracted to build the homes and infrastructure. Here are the results:

• The wood and materials are of poor quality and workmanship. Many families have ended up paying from their own pockets for renovations;
• The doors and walls are built of plywood. Walls were not even varnished.
• There are no bedrooms at all.
• The floor, made from softwood has 'peep-able' gaps between the floorboards.
• The first storey has no ceiling.
• The common veranda vital for communal activities is much narrower with visibly rotting balustrades. In some houses stairs have partially collapsed.

• The bathrooms and toilets are very small. Their floors have no proper waterproofing system. In one longhouse there are large square openings in the lower part of the bathroom walls adjoining the floor.
• The piping system leaks. It is claimed that the rain gutter for the roof is insufficient in its size and often leaks at several spots. One shabby gutter system hosts a large gap at its corner. The gap is on top of the main switchboard.
• Septic tanks allegedly take in bathroom and kitchen refuse. The result - a poor and smelly decomposition process. Effluents flow into the river, not a sewage pond.
• The earth drains were poorly dug - the fluid is stagnant and it stinks.
• The yard is muddy, not completed and unfit for recreation. Although the communal yard belongs to the state - allegedly no maintenance services have been provided.

3. Inadequate Infrastructure

There is no secondary school in Asap. The teenagers would still have to travel a long way to the town of Belaga for their secondary education.

There is no public transport. To run errands, one has to hire private land cruisers. Schoolchildren, the sick and the elderly suffer most. The roads are nowhere near completion. Dusty, muddy, uneven, not tarred, puddle-filled, holed, dangerous.

One garbage dump for each community - some families may have to walk a long way just to dispose waste. Collection is almost non-functional.

4. Insufficient Land For Food Production

Each family is given only 3 acres of land to work on. To put food on the plate, some have begun planting on any available land, even if it belongs to the State.

5. Eating Rice and Salt

The natives claimed that when they first came, food items were even more expensive. Although prices of the foodstuff have now decreased, the huge burden is still felt - this is the first time in their lives that they have to buy rice, meat, fish, vegetables, electricity and water. Then, the cash ran out and the jobs did not come. (Oil palm companies only offer RM8-10 a day.) Still - the Asap natives need to buy and buy. But when they can no longer buy, they would have to make do.

Previously, the Ukits claimed that they were even able to sell their fish and meat at logging camps. A one-day trip out could at least bring a RM50 profit home. Now the people cultivate, rear, gather and hunt what they can but when times are hard, some would have to subsist on rice with salt or Monosodium Glutamate. And times are often hard, especially to those who have moved there the earliest.

6. Possible Malnutrition and Hunger

Traditionally, the people were practitioners of the organic and sustainable shifting agriculture. The danger is that their 3 acres of land today may not be able to withstand rice cultivation continuously. There is also little aid for them - no fishponds, chicken coops or ample hunting-gathering forests. Should there be poor rice yield and other food shortages in the future, the occurrence of malnutrition and hunger in Asap is certain.

The three rivers - Asap, Koyan and Penyuan, upriver tributaries of Belaga, cannot sustain under the population pressure. Fish is scarce. Soon, it would not be suitable for drinking, washing and bathing. Untreated sewage effluents flow into them. The surrounding oil palm plantations may further pollute the waters with pesticides and pollutants. Hence the scarce fish resource may soon vanish altogether.

7. Destruction Of Social Fabric

Women lose independence

Independent Balui women are building on a new dependence to the male breadwinners. They no longer can gather, farm, fish, weave, heal, plan and participate in cultural events. They don't drive and boats are almost obsolete. Idling away at home, cooking and washing - Asap women are bored, excluded and frustrated.

Conflicts

In Asap, communal sharing cannot be practised freely. Food cannot be given away to neighbours. Cultural events are expensive. People fight - food is little, cash is scarce and they are desperate. In the future, they may fight over land sizes and boundaries. Families may fight over leaving or staying. Husbands may leave to find work. Children may compete for land inheritance in bitterness.

Alcoholism

Many Asap citizens have begun to seek refuge in alcohol - men and women (not traditionally heavy drinkers!), young and old. However, rice, a main tuak ingredient, is now no longer free and plenty. When alcohol supply decreases and the demand increases - crimes and violence will surely be prevalent.

Vulnerable youngsters

Loafing youngsters are drinking and smoking too early, not necessarily indulging in home-made substances. Deprived of secondary education and traditional skills, with time to kill, distressed parents and the lure of the commercial world, they are indeed vulnerable to self-destruction.

GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONED REVIEW HAD ALREADY WARNED AGAINST RESETTLEMENT IN ASAP

A review of the socio-economic studies and preliminary recommendations of the resettlement, submitted to the Sarawak State Government in 1994 had warned the Government sufficiently of the resettlement problems that would occur in Asap. [ see report by Jerome Rousseau, J., Review of Socio-Economic Studies and Preliminary Recommendations for the Resettlement of the Kayan and Lahanan of the Upper Balui (1994)].

According to the study, the soil quality of Asap is mediocre, unsuitable for cash crops. The area is too small. (About 7,000 hectares for what used to be at least 35,000 hectares of land use.) There is no plan for population increase. There is little supply of jungle produce and hunting land. It warns against forcing the community into a full cash economy and concentrating them into a few large villages. Allocate RM750 million for resettlement costs. Plan for substitute protein sources. Resettlement must be land based with access to forest. There must be plenty of consultations.

It recommended for the relocation to take place in upper Balui itself because there is no need to move to Asap at all. "While the catchment area will flood existing village sites and fields, much land is still available. Hence, from an agricultural viewpoint, there is no reason to resettle the people of Balui to another area."

Now with the downsizing of the dam, surely the resettlement programme in Asap is even more unjustifiable.

"The right planning approach is first to establish the people's needs, and then to find a site compatible with it. The reverse has been done here." Way back in 1994, the Malaysian Government was cautioned that the people should be allowed to stay along the enlarged Balui River or its nearby tributaries and yet, this was ignored.

OUR APPEAL FOR ACTION

1. SAM calls on the Malaysian Government and the Sarawak State Government to set up an Independent Commission of Inquiry to do the following:

(i) Investigate and attend to ALL resettlement issues raised by the native communities.

(ii) Determine what the natives want and make recommendations as to what needs to be done by the State and Federal Governments. The natives must be allowed to decide whether they would like to remain in Asap and have vast improvements made to their present living conditions or be legally permitted to return home to the non-inundated areas of upriver Balui.

(iii) Inquire into the way the resettlement site was developed, designed, financed and contracted. These include the poor construction of the houses and infrastructure, the lack of certain basic facilities and the inadequate space for some key economic, cultural and social activities.

(iv) Disclose how the new houses were valued at RM52,000 and what the value of the old homes was.

(v) Inquire into official reasons as to why the resettlement in Asap proceeded despite the warning of the Review of Socio-Economic Studies and Preliminary Recommendations for the Resettlement of the Kayan and Lahanan of the Upper Balui, a report submitted to the State Planning Unit, the Chief Minister's Department of Sarawak in 1994.

(vi) Should the Commission find any forms of irregularities, favouritism, arbitrariness, mismanagement, abuse, non-compliance of procedures or non-adherence to quality standards in the course of the resettlement programme, legal action must follow against the appropriate parties and rectification steps must be promptly pursued.

2. The Independent Commission must comprise of credible members of the public and professionals who will act without fear or favour. It must also ensure that the inquiry is conducted in a transparent and democratic manner, with full and unhindered participation from the native communities. Its findings must be made public.

3. In the meantime, the shortage of food supply must be quickly dealt with. We urge the Sarawak State Government to look into these matters:

• Instantly provide aid and relief to the communities that are facing serious food shortage. Determine the severity of the occurrence of malnutrition, especially among children and take necessary measures to rectify the situation.
• More of the surrounding plots of land in Asap must be made available and fairly distributed to the natives for them to increase their rice yield along with the production of non-staple foods like vegetables, fruits, tubers and other food crops.
• Ensure that there is sustainable protein supply. Facilities and assistance should be provided for each community so that they are able to carry out livestock rearing or fish culture to meet local protein needs.
• The natives' customary rights on the ancestral land in upriver Balui that will be inundated by the dam must be returned to them so that it can be utilised for food production.
• Check on the prices of food and essentials in Asap and their supplies so as to ensure that the people can easily afford them.

CONCLUSION

In the light of the above, and in the spirit of ensuring that the grievances of the indigenous peoples who have been affected by the Bakun HEP are genuinely and properly dealt with, we sincerely hope that our appeal will be seriously considered by the relevant authorities.

Dear friends,

 We are pleased to enclose a copy of the memorandum we have sent to the Malaysian Prime Minister, Chief Minister of Sarawak, Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Multimedia and the Sarawak Minister responsible for the Bakun Resettlement.

We are forwarding this memorandum to you so that you can make similar calls to the authorities along the lines that we have done. You may also want to circulate this and provide media attention too.

We in SAM continue to be in touch with the communities in Sg. Asap.

We will be sending you by separate mail copies of a pamphlet that we had done which is similar to the memorandum that is enclosed. You may want to use the pamphlets for widespread dissemination.

Do what you can to support our calls and do keep us informed of what actions are being undertaken. Should you have further queries, kindly contact:

Sahabat Alam Malaysia,
27 Lorong Maktab,
14000 Penang,
Malaysia.

You can also communicate via email at this address: meenaco@pd.jaring.my . Should you have further inquiries, kindly contact Meena Raman at the above email address.