Youths ask Sabah to look at alternatives other than building the Kaiduan Dam

KOTA KINABALU: Youths involved in land rights advocacy in Ulu Papar, not far from here, are hoping that the government would consider taking alternative measures to provide a more consistent water supply instead of building a dam.

These youth, who recently attended a survey workshop on this matter organised by the Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (youth) non-governmental organisation, said the decision by the government to go ahead with a plan to build the Kaiduan Dam, could not be supported.

"We object to the construction of the dam known as the Kaiduan or Papar Dam," they said in a joint statement recently.

They suggested that the government take a more sustainable, environmentally-friendly and respectful approach in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) initiative mooted by the state government.

They urged the state and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to accept a suggestion from the International Water Association (IWA) and other state leaders who had voiced out their thoughts on this matter, pushing for alternative measures to solve Sabah’s long-standing water woes.

On Aug 10 and Aug 16, the IWA and former Putatan MP, Awang Husaini Sahari had said that building coastal reservoirs were cheaper ways to address water disruption and water shortage problems in the state.

The IWA had in an earlier statement stated that water was a main critical resource for sustainable development but many areas including the city of Kota Kinabalu still suffered from low water pressure.

These suggestions were based on current paradigm shifts in development of water sources from building traditional dams to downstream reservoirs.

Geologist and former Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) lecturer Prof Dr Felix Tongkul had also previously urged for alternative measures to be taken instead of building dams that could bring negative impacts towards the environment and the native communities.

Apart from this, the youth urge the government to approve land title grants for residents of Ulu Papar and to speed up the construction of roads because the current road conditions at the area poses danger to road users.

"We hope for more agricultural innovation from the government, especially in Ulu Papar.

"The various uncertainties regarding the fate of locals in Ulu Papar especially with the proposed Kaiduan Dam is making life difficult for all that lives here," they said.

He added that they feared being asked to evacuate the lands they had lived on for generations, and wished only for security, safety as well as a peace of mind that they could continue living in the village where they had called home for decades.

They ask that the government come up with feasible solutions and find sustainable and holistic development plans that do not affect villagers negatively.

The proposal to build a dam to solve water issues in west coast Sabah was mooted over 10 years ago by the then Barisan Nasional state government.

The proposals had been repeatedly rejected by villagers as well as environmentalists for reasons including fear of evacuation and floods.