SABAH’S ruling politicians have been accused of turning a deaf ear to their promises to stop environmentally damaging projects in the state.

State activists said these leaders, who once rode on environmental causes, have now cut all communication lines after winning the May elections last year.

“The previous government never gave us (civil society leaders) a chance to meet up to discuss the issues at hand and now the same, with the new one,” Sabah Open Space leader S.M. Muthu told The Malaysian Insight.

“Some of the politicians went to the extent of promising to put an end to these damaging projects when they were still the opposition. But what are they saying and doing about it now?”

Muthu was referring to the leaders from Parti Warisan Sabah who now appear to be washing their hands of projects, such as the Tanjung Aru Eco Development and the mega-dam.

These projects are presently being reviewed or their status left uncertain by the present Sabah government.

But tell-tale signs show the likelihood of the Warisan-led government proceeding with them on the grounds of the need to create more jobs and to deal with water shortage in the state.  

The Tanjung Aru project was supposed to be a “no-go” if Warisan comes into power after GE14.

But on July 4 last year, Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal said the project will not be scrapped but under review. Shafie also indicated the likeliness of downsizing the project.  

The Tanjung Aru project is an ambitious makeover of the popular tourist spot in Kota Kinabalu. It is valued at RM7.1 billion, with an additional RM1.83 billion on reclamation of the Tanjung Aru beach shoreline.

The second controversial and most ambiguous one at present is the dam project.

Under the previous Barisan Nasional administration, the dam was initially sited at Kaiduan in Penampang district.

After BN’s loss in the May 9 polls, the new administration proposed a new site for the dam.

The minister-in-charge Peter Anthony said on August 6 the project will be at Kg Bisuang in Papar at a cost of RM2 billion.

But on November 8, Anthony said the government has not decided on any site yet for the dam and floated Kg Mandalipau as a potential new site.  

DAP senator Adrian Lasimbang concurs with Muthu who believed the state government was carrying out the planning behind closed doors although details of such projects should be made public.

“The government is not even consulting us within the government that is not favourable to dams, what more consulting with NGOs and communities?

“I have a feeling the government will revert to the original plan to build the dam in Mandalipau, a tributary to Sungai Papar,” said Lasimbang.

As the projects are being kept under wraps, Lasimbang said there is nothing to be debated about the dam as there is no fresh information about it.

Meanwhile, a Warisan leader and Sabah minister said the reason the state government has shut off all talks with civil society groups is because they are in disarray.

“There’s one group saying they want this and the other groups are saying other things.

“They told the government you cannot do this and that. What progress can we bring if they are not allowing us to do anything at all?” asked the politician, requesting anonymity. – January 10, 2019.