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Home » News & Archives » Bakun Dam
| Longhouse folks affected by Bakun project seek help
by STEPHEN THEN, The Star (Malaysia)
September 24th, 2004
MIRI: Longhouse folks living downstream of the Bakun hydro-electric dam project site in Belaga district, central Sarawak, have appealed to the state and federal authorities for help as they are suffering from water and food shortage and flood and transportation woes. |
| Malaysia's Bakun dam eyes $658mln pension fund loan
Reuters
October 6th, 2003
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Sarawak Hidro, manager of the construction of Southeast Asia's largest hydroelectric dam, has sought a 2.5 billion ringgit ($658 million) loan from Malaysia's state pension fund to prevent the project suffering further delays, industry sources said on Monday. |
| Malaysia Smelter Asia/Bakun: Dam Completion By 2007
Dow Jones Newswires
September 30th, 2003
KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Smelter Asia Sdn. Bhd., which is building a $2 billion aluminum smelting plant in east Malaysia's Sarawak state, intends to buy up to half the power output of the Bakun hydroelectric dam, a statement from Smelter Asia said Tuesday. |
| Board: No big damage by Bakun project
by STEPHEN THEN, The Star (Malaysia)
September 28th, 2003
MIRI: The construction of the RM6bil Bakun hydroelectric dam project at Belaga in central Sarawak has not caused any massive damage or alteration to the ecosystem there, the Sarawak Natural Resources and Environment Board said. |
| Big Money: Power decisions
by P Gunasegaram, The Edge Daily (Malaysia)
September 16th, 2003
As compelling as the logic seems to be at first glance, there are many complications on second thoughts. When the Bakun hydroelectric plant is completed, there will be 2400mw of power coming onstream, more than Sabah and Sarawak can use. And there is no undersea cable to the peninsula. |
| UPDATE - Malaysia's Syed Mokhtar to build Borneo dam
by Patrick Chalmers, Reuters
September 5th, 2003
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Malaysian tycoon Syed Mokhtar Albukhary has agreed to pay $254 million for control of the controversial and much-delayed Bakun dam in Borneo's Sarawak state and will manage construction of the $2.4 billion project. |
| Sarawak TIDC to Monitor Removal of Bakun Timber
by The Borneo Bulletin
February 26th, 2003
MIRI - The Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) will get into the swing of monitoring timber removal from the Bakun hydroelectric dam project. STIDC Acting General Manager Rabani Taip said the log residue has to be removed from the dam area as stipulated in the project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report. |
| Survey shows effects of dam on Kayan
by JACK WONG, The Star
October 4th, 2002
KUCHING: The majority of the Kayan resettlers in Sungai Asap, Belaga, are culturally worse off after being uprooted and relocated from the Bakun dam site, according to a Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) survey. |
| Aluminium Smelter to be Set Up
by Peter Sibon, Sarawak Tribune
September 27th, 2002
RM7.6 billion plant: State's single largest investment to come on stream in 2007 |
| Part payment of Bakun dam project through palm oil
Sarawak Tribune
August 29th, 2002
KUCHING - Part of the payment for the contract work on the RM1.788-billion main dam of the Bakun hydro-electric project in central Sarawak is expected to be in the form of palm oil, according to a member of the consortium which will undertake the job. |
| Sarawak Has Potential to Become Power House for South East Asia
by Ahmad Fuad Yahya , Bernama
May 27th, 2002
Bakun hydro power dam is expected to become power house which produce a huge amount of electricity at a very low cost and bring benefit to Sarawak people. However it takes a long time and huge money to build. How much benefits could be brought into them? |
| Governments Decline Comment on NGO Report
New Straits Times
May 21st, 2002
More attempts by the Malaysian media to make a hubbub about the Bakun funding "controversy". This is reaching very silly proportions - as if the US and Australian governments would take official stances on such a non-issue! |
| Residents Return Home as Fears Over Bakun Disaster Subside
by Yap Mun Ching, Malaysiakini
May 13th, 2002
The Bakun coffer dam subsided has been collapsed several times because the structure made of earth and mud is vulnerable to strong water currents of the river. There was the same situation at the other dam project. Can't people help putting up with the fear of flooding during the construction? |
| Belaga rep links lack of info to Bakun fears
by Tony Thien, Malaysiakini
May 13th, 2002
The native inhabitants living around the Bakun hydro-electric dam feel uneasy about the flooding by heavy rain. This dam is expected to produce electricity but the project has been proceeded without care of the inhabitants. |
| Exploit Fully Borneo's Rich Natural Resources
by John Teo, New Straits Times
May 4th, 2002
This article is a propaganda piece designed to promote more massive hydro projects, and other similar projects. Its interesting to see the point of view of such people. The article says: "There will be costs - in both monetary and non-monetary terms - but whoever said development wiil be painless?" As usual, the indigenous people will feel the pain while wealthy investors get the benefits. |
| Hyundai Confident of Bakun Bid
by Sharon Ling, Sarawak Tribune
April 16th, 2002
The Korean mega-conglomerate, known for its cars, are making a bid to build much of Bakun Dam, together with a local company. They are one of the few foreign companies to show any interest so far. |
| National Power Project Fails in a Day
by Johannes Ridu , New Straits Times
February 18th, 2002
An expensive mini-hydroelectric project has been abandoned after only one day in operation, forcing households, schools and offices to continue to be dependent on generators and kerosene lamps. The project failed because the Bario river was too small and shallow to generate any power for the dam's power station. |
| More Progress on Bakun, Chinese Show an Interest
Power in Asia
January 10th, 2002
The revived Bakun dam project has moved a step closer to realisation with its manager opening a tender for the electro-mechanical works contract. Meanwhile, Beijing is lobbying Malaysia to help Chinese companies clinch the main civil works contract for Bakun. |
| State Will Have Equity in Bakun Dam, Assures Dr. Chan
by Azam Hj Zawawie, Sarawak Tribune
October 5th, 2001
The State Government expects to have an equity in the Bakun Dam project. They add that they are more interested in other aspects of participation in the project such as construction and management. |
| Bakun Natives Meet Deputy Prime Minister in Kuala Lumpur
Utusan Konsumer
August 1st, 2001
For more than two years, several parties have been trying in vain to highlight the predicament of the Bakun-affected communities who were relocated from their homes around the Balui River to the new township of Sungai Asap. In July, six of the affected natives representing the Bakun Region People's Committee (BRPC) flew to Kuala Lumpur to speak to the Deputy Prime Minister and SUHAKAM and the public on their plight. |
| James Masing Missed the Entire Point
Utusan Konsumer
August 1st, 2001
A few days after the press highlighted the Bakun-affected natives' plight, the Chairman of the Bakun Resettlement Committee (BRC), Datuk Dr. James Masing, responded rather unkindly when the press queried him on the issues raised by the delegation of BRPC to Kuala Lumpur. In return SAM released a press statement to set the record straight. |
| Impacts of Bakun on Downstream and Nearby Areas
Utusan Konsumer
August 1st, 2001
For villagers around the Belaga River, whose homes are located nearby the resettlement scheme which is 30 km from the Bakun dam site, several problems have suddenly begun to trouble them. |
| Bakun Dam Natives: Sarawak Minister's Apathy Rapped
by Ajinder Kaur, Malaysiakini
July 14th, 2001
The NGO S.A.M. criticized recent statements by Sarawak Social Development and Urbanisation Minister James Masing. For instance, in response to complaints that the people being displaced by the Bakun Dam didn't have enough job opportunities, Masing said "they were just being lazy." |
| Malaysia's $2.4 Billion Dam May Be More Prestigious Than Useful
Bloomberg
July 7th, 2001
This article from the financial service Bloomberg considers the Bakun Dam to be a white elephant. The dam is compared with other recent Malaysian mega-projects that seem to be more about prestige than having a useful function. |
| Bakun Displaced Families Claim Compensation Stalled
by Kevin Tan, Malaysiakini
July 5th, 2001
“On TV, the politicians said the government has paid us. Here I bring the proof that it has not,” [said a villager], holding up a list of names of families in his longhouse, who have yet to receive the full compensation. |
| Coffer Dam for the Coffer
Utusan Konsumer
July 1st, 2001
A company called Global Uphill appears to have won the contract to build the coffer dam for Bakun. Yet another company owned by the same man, Ekran, has had a disastrous record on Bakun works. Why would the government use one of his companies again? In Sarawak, its all about paying off political favors. |
| Big Money for Big Boys
Utusan Konsumer
July 1st, 2001
CMSB Group, a company majority owned by the family of Sarawak's Chief Minister, appears well placed to win lucrative contracts to build the Bakun Dam. I wonder why that would be? |
| The Bakun Boo Boo - Facts and Fallacies
Utusan Konsumer
July 1st, 2001
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir has been a fountain of misinformation about the Bakun Dam, and recently insinuated that anyone opposing it must be instigated by foreigners. The Malaysian consumer reports magazine Utusan Konsumer tries to set the record straight and counter Mahathir's claims here. |
| New EIA for Bakun Necessary
by MC Wong, Rengah Sarawak
June 27th, 2001
Malaysian and international NGOs are calling for a new and more detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the revived Bakun Dam Project. This article provides many reasons why the Bakun Dam EIA last updated in 1993 is outdated and lacks analysis. |
| Between Embarrassment and Rationality
by MC Wong, Rengah Sarawak
June 22nd, 2001
"Dams and Devlopment", a report composed by the World Commission on Dams (WCD) provides abundant evidence that dams have been colossal failures. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr. Mahatir publically attacks local and international NGOs for their Bakun Dam opposition efforts. |
| Dam Forces Indigenous People into the Middle of Nowhere
by Richard Lloyd Parry, The Independent
June 11th, 2001
Within the next five years, the Dayak's home will probably have disappeared for ever. The gurgling rapids will be overwhelmed by a vast hydro-electric dam, 650 feet tall. And a vast area of jungle - at 70,000 hectares it is an area larger than Singapore - will be flooded to create Borneo's largest lake. |
| More Bakun Resettlers Speak Out Against Unmet Promises
by Mai Lagiw through Silop, Rengah Sarawak
June 8th, 2001
The Bakun Dam Project has been revived, but residents who accepted resettlement packages from the government have gone uncompensated. More than 200 displaced families have banded together and filed suit against the government's unfair compensation. |
| 'No Short Cut to Change'
by Toman Mamora , Sarawak Tribune
May 25th, 2001
This article shows the government's dislike of traditional people and their culture. The Chief Minister of Sarawak says they need to "depart from the old ways" and "assimilate the values of modernization". His advice to the dispossessed by the new Bakun Dam? "The pain is part of the cure". Funny how some people always seem to be the ones bearing the pain. |
| Sarawak Lost as a Land of Plenty
by Mark Baker, Melbourne Age
May 21st, 2001
Another article on the Bakun Dam and its negative effects on people and the environment. This was written by a reporter that actually went to the dam, and includes quotes from people living in nearby villages. |
| Development or Oppression for Bakun Settlers?
by Dr Syed Husin Ali, President, Malaysian Peoples' Party (PRM)
May 14th, 2001
The Malaysian government recently announced their would show some lenience over how soon people being resettled by the Bakun Dam have to repay their debts. The leader of a prominent opposition party in Sarawak sees this as just a half-jesture, and takes the government to task for their shoddy treatment of those being resettled generally. |
| Masing: More than RM20 Million for Bakun Settlers
Borneo Post
May 13th, 2001
This article is meant to show how much the Malaysian government is helping people being resettled by the Bakun Dam, but if you read between the lines, one can see what a tough time those resettled are having. |
| Bakun Dam to Go Ahead at Full Size
by Harlan Thompson , The Borneo Project
April 27th, 2001
The Borneo Project has written a synopsis of all the recent news regarding the Bakun Dam. If you read only one article on the Bakun Dam, try this one. |
| Bakun Highway - A Price for Development
by James Alexander Ritchie, Sarawak Tribune
January 10th, 2001
The road connecting the Bakun Dam to the coast is bring many changes to nearby communities - most of them bad. |
| The Tragedy of Bakun Dam
by Sam Hui, Malaysiakini
November 1st, 2000
An eyewitness account of the suffering facing the indigenous people being displaced by the Bakun Dam. |
| Sarawak's Excess Energy
Utusan Consumer Magazine
December 1st, 1999
This article shows that the electricity generated by the Bakun Dam will be complete overkill compared to any potential need. Yet the white elephant moves forward. |
| Giant Waste Dump to be Created in Sarawak
Utusan Consumer Magazine
December 1st, 1999
What to do with all the energy created by the Bakun Dam? Part of the plan is to make an aluminum smelting plant, guaranteed to be an environmental travesty. |
| Bakun Dam: The Phantom Menace
by Wick Pancoast, Earth Island Journal
October 1st, 1999
This Earth Island Journal documents the personal experience of a Borneo Project volunteer at the resettlement villages of Bakun Dam, and discusses the prospects of if the dam will be completed or not. |
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