Penan tribe demand a say in dam project

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Penan tribespeople in Borneo have demanded a say in a hydroelectric dam being built on their land.

Construction of the Murum dam in the Malaysian state of Sarawak is well underway, and will flood the land of at least six Penan villages. The Penan were not properly consulted before the project began.

Now a ‘social and environmental impact assessment’ is being prepared for the project, despite construction being at an advanced stage.

In a statement released earlier this month, Penan from the affected villages ask what will happen if the impact assessment is not approved. Penan man Surang Alung says, ‘What will the government do to recover back the land, forest, rivers and natural resources that have been destroyed?’

The statement by the Pelieran-Murum Penan Affairs Committee urges the state government not to approve the impact assessment until it has been publicly scrutinized, and to take their opinions into account.

The Penan have told the government that if they must leave their land to make way for the dam, they want to choose where they move to. But the palm oil giant Shin Yang has moved into the area they have suggested, and is planning a huge plantation. ‘Shin Yang has entered the area illegally without our consent. If it is allowed to extensively clear and fell the forest, there will be no more forest left for our community to sustain our livelihood,’ say the Penan.

The Murum dam is the first in a new series of large-scale hydroelectric projects being planned by the Sarawak state government, which will displace thousands of Indigenous people.

Survival International published a new report last week highlighting a worldwide boom in dam building for ‘green’ energy, and its devastating impact on tribal peoples.