KOTA KINABALU, July 3 — Sabah Assistant Law and Native Affairs minister said she remains firm in her belief that the controversial Papar dam was unnecessary and the government should uphold the rights of the indigenous people’s land.
Lasimbang, a former Suhakam commissioner and non-governmental organisation leader, said that it was her prerogative to ensure that the communities, potentially affected by the building of the dam in Ulu Papar were protected.
“In the case of this dam, if it is going to affect the native people, I think it is very important to ensure their rights are respected, including their land rights.
“Based on my previous experience in Suhakam also, looking at the resettlement and compensation, it’s lacking in what they have actually promised,” she said when speaking to reporters after a workshop on anti-child marriage laws in here.
The Kapayan assemblyman said that as a government, the environmental and social impact of such a project must be assessed and standards of operations to be adhered before being carried out.
“I also believed that we must look at the alternatives. Malaysia has committed to a sustainable development goal meaning we should look at development from the perspective of fair, not just communities, but also as sustainable for our environment as well,” she said.
She also said that in a question session in the last State Assembly in April, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew had answered that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not out on the project yet.
Lasimbang who is Sabah DAP wanita chief was among the many local leaders who had campaigned against the dam before the May 9 polls last year, then called the Kaiduan dam, for fear of it displacing up to 2,000 people in the vicinity, as well as affect the livelihood of the natives.
When the Parti Warisan Sabah and Pakatan Harapan government took over the state, instead of scrapping the project, they changed the proposed location of the dam to further downstream in the Papar district, and called it the Papar dam but recently relocated again back upstream, closer to the initial location in Ulu Papar but still in the Papar district.
The state government said the dam was necessary to provide water supply to the west coast district for future projected needs and have modified it into a dual-purpose hydroelectric dam.
Opposition and critics have called out the government who had used the anti-dam sentiment in their campaign against the then BN government for going against their promise and staying silent on the issue now.
Lasimbang, whose constituency is within Penampang, adjacent to Papar, said that she has made her opinion known to the chief minister and had brought it up to different Cabinet ministers, denying that she has been silent on the issue.
“There has been some misunderstanding that we are quiet on the issue.
“We are from a different position already. From my point of view, we have to discuss this in a proper channel. For me, I have approached ministers directly and brought this up.
“I will do my best within my government to give my point of view, I think the CM himself has already said I have expressed to him some of these issues, of course these are things in government we need to improve, we need to have good dialogues,” she said.
Lasimbang said that she continues to be approached by NGOs on the matter, and she advised them to ensure the government respects their rights and position.
“I advised them to continue in their beliefs. Do not be deterred just because there have been announcements. This is how it should work — respect of rights,” she said, adding that she hoped there will be a good forum established with a proper platform for them to express their views.
