SOME 200 anti-dam protesters made their way to Mondoringin in Papar today, the area identified as the final site for the Papar hydroelectric dam, to call on the Sabah government to put a stop to the RM3 billion project.

The group consists of villagers from Penampang and Papar, as well as the Task Force Against Kaiduan Dam, Save Papar River, Babagon Dam, Pacos Trust, Sabah Bersih 2.0 and other civil society groups.

They had gathered in solidarity in the Ulu Papar region to remind the authorities of the destruction the dam would bring towards nature and the loss of ancestral lands if the project continues.

The Ulu Papar region covers Papar and Penampang, connected via the mountainous range of Crocker Range, which also borders Tambunan.

The construction of the Papar Dam is expected to begin next year after the state cabinet approves the final dam plan redesign and obtains the necessary funding.

Task Force Against Kaiduan Dam leader Diana Sipail reiterated that the dam project, which was introduced during the Barisan Nasional era, had only undergone a name change under the Warisan-led state government.

She said the name Kaiduan was only replaced with Papar, but the site for the dam remains the same in Papar.

The Penampang folk previously opposed the Kaiduan Dam for fear the flooding of the Ulu Papar region will reach to the district, causing the loss of land, livelihood and homes to some 3,000 villages in the region.

Sipail also said the civil society groups felt betrayed by several politicians from the present ruling parties who had used the dam controversy to gain political advantage against their rivals in the last general election.

“The Ulu Papar residents had campaigned alongside them to change the old government in the hope that they will put an end to the dam project.

“We will continue to press for these politicians to uphold their promises now that they have held high positions in the government after winning the polls last year,” she said.

She said the announcement of Mondoringin as the site for the dam by Infrastructure Development Minister Peter Anthony came as a surprise to them.

She added that it will be a serious violation of human rights under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People if the project continues, which Malaysia is also a signatory of the declaration. 

The group solidarity campaign to oppose to dam was held in the secluded area, nearby a palm oil planting ground. A cross was seen erected as a priest held some prayers to bless the ground at the event. 

Anthony, the minister-in-charge, had insisted that the dam is the only answer to resolve the water shortage in the west coast districts despite calls to consider other alternatives.

There had been calls for the state government to plug all the leakages on existing Water Department pipes in the districts to reduce the state’s non-revenue water, which presently stands around 51.9%.

A similar call was made by geologist expert Dr Felix Tongkul who had briefed Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal recently that building large dams will disrupt the flow of the river, causing imbalance to the natural hydrological and ecological systems and, subsequently, caused a long-term effect both downstream and upstream.

He said the best solution is not to disturb the natural water catchments that exist in the present ecological system.

A Papar villager, Charlton Maogui, 65, from Mondoringin said he fears he will lose all his agricultural and fresh water fish sources if the dam is built.

He said he had lived in the area for eight generations and was willing to die for his ancestral grounds.

“I have lived here for decades and don’t want to see all of this gone if the dam is built.”

Another villager identified as Jacky said he presently enjoys the peace, quiet and clean air of Ulu Papar, but fears all of this will be gone when the construction of the dam commences.

“The whole place will be populated by workers and definitely will be mostly foreigners as they usually are involved in construction,” he said. – July 31, 2019.