Court rules procedures not complied with in Bakun dam claims

BINTULU: A civil suit filed by villagers from 15 remote long­houses in central Sarawak against the state authorities over outstanding compensation claims relating to the Bakun hydroelectric dam has been struck out by the High Court in Bintulu.

The suit was filed by villagers from the 15 original longhouses in the upper Balui river in Belaga district against the Sarawak authorities to claim what the villagers felt were unpaid compensation plus interest owing to them. They had named the directors of the Sarawak Land and Survey Depart­ment and the state government as defendants.