Open Letter to PMX

MADANI GOVERNMENT SHOULD INVESTIGATE UNNECESSARY 5 BILLION NENGGIRI DAM PROJECT ORANG ASLI SHORT-CHANGED AND MISINFORMED/COERCED IN THE NENGGIRI DAM PROJECT. 10,000 YEARS OF MALAYSIAN HERITAGE AND EA

YAB Dato' Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim

Perdana Menteri

Pejabat Perdana Menteri

Blok Utama, Bangunan Perdana Putra

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan

62502 PUTRAJAYA.

28th February 2024

BY COURIER & EMAIL.

Dear YAB Dato’ Seri,

MADANI GOVERNMENT SHOULD INVESTIGATE UNNECESSARY 5 BILLION NENGGIRI DAM PROJECT

ORANG ASLI SHORT-CHANGED AND MISINFORMED/COERCED IN THE NENGGIRI DAM PROJECT.

10,000 YEARS OF MALAYSIAN HERITAGE AND EARLY CIVILISATION WILL BE DESTROYED.

GOVERNMENT SHOULD SCRAP THIS UNNECESSARY PROJECT

Greetings, YAB, and I hope this finds you in the best health and spirits.

I wish to bring the matter mentioned above to your attention as I have a strong feeling there is something amiss in the insistence of TNB on pursuing the Nenggiri dam project, which would cause great catastrophe to the environment, natural heritage and destruction of ancient Orang Asli civilisation dating back to 10,000 years ago. 

This project was cancelled by the previous MESTEC Minister, YB Yeo Yee Bin, on the basis there was no need for such a hydroelectric project, and the said project would increase the overall electricity supply costs by an additional RM2 billion compared to the approved Pelan Pembangunan Penjanaan 2018-2037. As TNB would fully bear the cost, there is the likelihood of an increase in electricity tariff, which is something other than what this MADANI government would encourage. 

I write to appeal to you, Sir, to re-evaluate and cancel such a mega project, which I believe is being pursued on unfounded grounds, raising the public suspicion that some parties are hell-bent on continuing the project to enrich a small group of mysterious people who do not place the interests of the nation at heart.

I also wish to inform you that the Orang Aslis’ were misled and misinformed about the project's facts and coerced by certain parties with vested interests.

As the previous Minister in charge of Orang Asli and Jakoa during the PH government, I had extensive engagements with these communities. I was particularly shocked to hear from the Orang Asli community in Kelantan about their woes and treatment. I camped for two nights in the deep villages of the Orang Asli, which took me on a 10-hour journey on the "Jalan Balak" 80km from the main road, Gua Musang. I lived amongst them under basic amenities to understand their predicament better in 2019.

It was then that the misinformation and the raw deal given to them in the Nenggiri dam project came to my attention. I discussed this with the then MESTEC minister, YB Yeo Bee Yin, and she confirmed that she was not pursuing the project. She presented a cabinet paper to cancel the project with valid and sound justifications as to why she felt the project was not cost-effective/not viable, the effect on the environment and the protection of our national heritage, and the AG's chambers supported this view.

Somehow, mysteriously, the project got approved under the initiative of another Ministry without the proposal (kertas ulasan) coming to my attention as the Minister in charge of Jakoa then.

However, in subsequent cabinet meetings, I raised the matter, and the cabinet instructed further discussions to be held. I summoned TNB, EIA and Jakoa Kelantan to brief me. Their justification for the project was not convincing. Villagers in Pos Bulat, Pos Tohoi and Kampung Wias were “briefed” on their new settlements and convinced of the economic benefits they would reap. If implemented, the whole project would affect many more Orang Asli settlements, a. fact being concealed by TNB.

As leaders, many of us need help understanding the Orang Asli community and their attitudes, views, and way of life. They are simple people who are not exposed to the modern world, and if they are all put in a room and given briefings with power points by top officials from TNB and the government, believe me, they would feel intimidated, fearful, and shut off. They would have agreed with anything suggested as they need help understanding the effect of environmental assessment impact reports and other government reports and statistics shown on a PowerPoint briefing. They are a vulnerable community that needs the support and sympathy of the entire country.

My fact-finding with the OA community convinced me that Jakoa Kelantan officers had exerted pressure, and some officers had even threatened the Orang Aslis'. I even tried to replace these officers as Minister but was unsuccessful.

The Orang Asli have their administrative system, and their heads are called Tok Batin. However, Jakoa has, over the years, created two systems of "local administration" wherein those so-called "leaders" who support business/corporate initiatives blindly are made the head of the kampong committee with allowances and direct access to government machinery, thus diluting the traditional role of Tok Batins’.

YAB, the Nenggiri dam should be scrapped by your MADANI government, considering its vast impact on the environment, way of life and destruction of the ancient Orang Asli settlement. Heritage impact assessment and the research conducted by Dr Adi Taha, the former National Museum Director, revealed the finding of skeletal remains from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. Many ancient caves at the site are still unexplored, and more studies are needed. If continued, 5,000 – 10,000 hectares of virgin forest and 10,000 years of early civilisation of humanity and natural heritage will be destroyed.

This is a question of whether we, as civilised Malaysians want to protect and study our heritage and ancestry or do we compromise our ancestry for the benefit of a few who wish to spend taxpayers' money worth almost 5 billion on a project which was found not viable previously. An alternative, independent view must be obtained with the full participation of all interested parties.

There are other ways and alternatives to address the Kelantan flood issue or to generate power without destroying ancient heritage, which is part of our MADANI GOVERNMENT TREASURE, which needs eternal protection, compassion and utmost discretion from you, Sir.

I also strongly urge the government to safeguard the rights and dignity of the Orang Asli, who have lived in the area since immemorial and consider it their ancestral land.

The Orang Asli have long been victims of short-sighted planning and greed. They deserve equal respect and access as accorded to every Malaysian by the Constitution.

Hence, I appeal to you to raise this matter with the relevant Ministers and protect our national heritage by cancelling the project and finding alternative ways to address the need to generate power and overcome the flood in Kelantan.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours faithfully

Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy

President

Malaysian Advancement Party (MAP)

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