Dam Watch

“Misrepresenting The Facts”? – We Publish More Documents!

SEB boss Torstein Sjotveit has been forced to admit that the turbines installed in the Murum Dam hydro-electric plant are currently “not suitable for installation and operation”, but he claims SR “misrepresented the facts”..

Satem Against the People – New CM Backs Taib’s Dam Projects

Chief Minister Adenan Satem has predictably taken on the role of Governor Taib Mahmud’s chief business manager. He today stated that the state government will “have to” build more dams to meet the power demand for its industrial development and for “the people”. He thundered that he did not care about the growing international criticism: “If we

Damned Disgrace!

You would have thought that if there was one thing that SEB’s Torstein Sjotveit and his Tasmanian side-kick Nick Wright would have both made sure of, it would be that the Penan communities, who were barged off their lands by the Murum Dam, would have been taken care of…

Mega-Dams Create Economic Disaster Says Top Study

Mega-dams are always promoted as key agents of progress and prosperity by the governments and business interests supporting them. Taib Mahmud is no exception with his pet project SCORE, which involves building no less than 12 more mega-dams in Sarawak, starting with 5 in the next 12 months. However, a new study by Britain’s prestigious

Sarawak Energy Reported For ‘Bribing’ Natives! – EXPOSE

On 19th December three four wheel drive vehicles were loaded with Sarawak Energy personnel and several tens of thousands of ringgit in cash (RM50 notes). They then made their way up to 33 villages in the Baram area, a region fraught with conflict over the company’s planned dam building programme. On arrival, according to testimony

Do You Believe Your Eyes And Ears Or SEB?

Sarawak Energy made a great presentation to the United Nations in Geneva last month, boasting about their plans to resettle the Penan, after forcing them from their homeland in Murum to make way for the latest controversial dam project. It seemed they were going to be moved from a deprived existence (true, especially since Taib

Torstein Should Apologise To Penan!

On November 7th, the Norwegian head of Sarawak Energy took great care to make his accusations against the Penan tribespeople at the Murum Dam blockade as public as possible, by insisting on broadcasting them in full on our site. In an email to the Swiss NGO BMF, which he copied into our comments section, he

The Story Sarawak’s Journalists Didn’t Get Hits Europe

The story that the Sarawak’s Journalist Association did not get when they were taken on their Sarawak Energy (SEB) sponsored tour of Murum is appearing prominently in European papers this weekend. France’s top Paper, Le Monde features the Murum native blockade (which the Sarawak journalists called abandoned) in a long article about the destruction caused

Blackout On Murum Arrests!

We have no pictures of today’s arrest of Penan natives at the Murum Dam blockade, because two boys trying to take photographs were themselves arrested for recording the event. The youngest, Tingang Lingok, is believed to be around 13 years old. The two teenagers are now among 8 Penan who have been jailed at the police

Murum Stand-Off Now “Critical”

  Sarawak Report has received news of a critical development in the Murum Dam blockade, which has now been maintained for several weeks by Penan tribespeople forced from their homes by rising waters Around a hundred of the men, women and children have broken away from the original site, where they were being penned in

Sarawak Energy Retreats From Baram! (For Now)

Over the past few days news has come through from both of the main Baram Dam construction sites that Sarawak Energy (SEB) has beaten a retreat. However, the local blockades, which are being manned by surrounding communities, remain in place to ward off further moves by the state owned company to re-start the dam building

Sarawak Energy Boss Shuns NGO Dialogue In Geneva

Nick Wright, Sarawak Energy’s Australian Vice-President in charge of Resettlement, Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Consultation, made a surprise appearance in Geneva this week. It turned out that his mission was to present a highly sanitised report to the United Nations, praising his company’s treatment of the natives affected by the state’s mega-dam plans. The

Resettlement Chaos – Outrage Grows Over Murum Natives

It has emerged that many of the families forced from their longhouses at Murum have found there is no replacement housing for them after all, in the half-built resettlement areas they have been bundled into by Sarawak Energy. Visitors last week spoke to families in Tegulang, all of whom had been given supposed vouchers for

Voices From Murum

Sarawak Energy’s Datuk Torstein Dale Sjotveit and his bosses in the Sarawak State Government have alleged that the anti-Murum Dam blockaders are being incited by NGOs and have painted a picture of trouble-making locals. In fact, there has been very little genuine news or information from the distant and isolated dam site, which has been

Global Day Of Action – Support Sarawak Against Dam Destruction!

This weekend campaigners in Sarawak and Malaysia signal the start of a month of international awareness action about the global warming crisis. They are focusing their concern on the “insane” mega dams policy of Sarawak. In a statement, supported by numerous Malaysian NGOs, the group have lambasted Taib’s ill-conceived and outdated policy of building of up to

Spotlight On Murum……

At the weekend Taib Mahmud bemoaned that the recent ‘spotlight of publicity’ on Sarawak has created negative perceptions of his government. So, clearly he wants no further light shone on the disgraceful treatment of the Penan at the Murum Dam site. The tribe are still holding out in protest against his authoritarian command to start

Foreign Troublemaker Causes Anguish In Murum

Native people of Murum say they are being bothered by a foreign troublemaker and have lodged a police report against him. Torstein Dale Sjotveit is a Norwegian, who yesterday caused complaints after shouting in the faces of Penan indigenous people, whom he is ejecting from their ancient homelands. It is also alleged that he berated

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