Villagers say no to proposed dam

They say the RM2.8bil dam across the Papar River will cover an area of some 12sq km that would result in about 11 densely populated kampungs in Penampang, some along the Crocker Range, being submerged.

“It has been estimated that at least 1,000 people would be affected by the construction of the dam alone,” said Moyog State Assemblyman Donald Mojuntin after meeting a group of villagers who staged a protest against the project at Kampung Maang in Penampang yesterday.

Donald said the proposed water treatment plant at Kampung Maang would be built on village reserve land as well as ancestral and private properties.

“Part of the affected area will include existing houses,” he added.

In addition, the water from the dam would be channelled to the treatment plant that would be laid through other densely populated villages, raising anxiety about the project among the people there as well, he said.

He said the construction of the dam and water treatment plant was part of the third phase of the Kota Kinabalu Water Supply Scheme aimed at providing an additional 1,200 litres of water for the state capital and nearby districts.

Donald said in Feb 2008, the state government granted approval to a company to conduct a feasibility study for water supply scheme.

The study was completed with a report presented to the government and a letter of intent subsequently given to the company on May 15 this year.

The letter requested the firm to submit a detailed proposal for negotiation with the government, he said.

“Therefore at this stage unless I’ve been misinformed, nothing has been finalised as yet,” he added.

He said the feasibility study for the project appeared not to have included consultation with the relevant elected representatives such as himself, local authorities and community leaders.

“The site seemed to have been drawn up just going by the topography of the area and identifying the water source.

“It would seem that the human side had been ignored. Looking at the magnitude of the project, a social impact assessment should have been undertaken to determine things like the exact number of families affected and how their livelihood is affected,” Donald added.

He said the affected villagers were appealing to the government to reconsider relocating the dam to the Mondolipau River, a tributary of the Papar River as no populated area would be affected.