See Bengoh when it is still dry

New video on installation of 2 mini hydros at Kg Nyegol goes live!

2012-07-24T07:15:00.003-07:00

You can also watch it here at You Tube.13min, original record-live music from Bidayuh musicians on site plus a visitor who blow music from a leaf! Camera by Joachim Leong & Samuel Wong. Comments welcome!

Bengoh film-viewing and download here!

2011-11-16T06:46:00.001-08:00

Bengoh dam has become added burden on the back of villagers displaced!

The Bengoh film is finally available for on-line viewing and download:
1. You Tube
2. Engagemedia

Reviews here:

Malaysiakini: http://bengohdry.blogspot.com/2011/10/film-reviews-eye-opener-malaysiakini.html

Malaysiakini: (Mandarin)- http://bengohdry.blogspot.com/2011/10/film-review-more-objective-assessment.html

Borneo Post - http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/10/30/film-director-to-get-generator-for-bengoh-folk/

Goodtimes: http://goodtimes.my/index.php/Community/the-voting-mystery-of-bengoh.html

Merdeka Review (in Mandarin) -http://bengohdry.blogspot.com/2011/10/merdeka-review-donate-towards-mini.html

Interiew of Director Joachim Leong is in the Star paper here.

Enjoy!

Issues of Bengoh dam spreaded further -powered by film!

2011-11-09T06:55:00.000-08:00

Just when the power that be think that the small number of villagers affected by Bengoh dam will fade away without anyone noticing them the new Bengoh film `Ulu Bengoh Darom Piin' stirs up a storm in its Kuching screening-even to the extent of catching attention of the Utusan Borneo-a Malay mainstream media that usually stay clear of such `controversial' issues. As more people get to know about the plight of the villagers there will be more scrutiny on the way the dam project was handled-and more pressures on the government to get it right in coming up with appropriate compensation package and options for the villagers. So readers can contribute to the solution by passing on the bitter story of these Bengoh folks. Make sure that their problems will not be forgotten in the government's handling of the Rm300+mil project!

Isu penduduk terjejas Empangan Bengoh terus tarik perhatian

Posted on November 9, 2011, Wednesday

MENUNGGU BEROPERASI: Pemandangan udara Empangan Bengoh yang kini sudah siap sepenuhnya namun belum dapat beroperasi kerana penduduk terjejas masih belum dipindahkan disebabkan pembinaan Skim Penempatan Semula yang belum siap.

ISU pemindahan penduduk empat kampung – Kampung Semban, Kampung Rejoi, Kampung Taba Sait dan Kampung Pain Bojong – yang terjejas disebabkan pembinaan Empangan Bengoh terus menarik perhatian bukan sahaja daripada ahli politik tetapi juga pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) dan masyarakat umum.

NILAI TARIKAN PELANCONG: Tiga orang wanita dari Kampung Semban mengenakan pakaian tradisional mereka.

Sebelum ini sering dilaporkan mengenai keengganan penduduk untuk berpindah ekoran beberapa sebab seperti pampasan belum dibayar dan tuntutan untuk mendapatkan rumah percuma di Skim Penempatan Semula.
Kemudiannya, laporan Ketua Audit Negara 2010 mendedahkan lokasi Skim Penempatan Semula yang terletak
di Kampung Semadang adalah tidak sesuai untuk menempatkan penduduk dan seorang wakil rakyat pakatan pembangkang turut menggesa supaya kerja bancian dan penyelidikan dijalankan bagi menilai perpindahan penduduk ke penempatan baru.
Bukan itu sahaja, usaha pemindahan penduduk yang penuh kontroversi itu turut dicemari oleh kerja-kerja pembinaan Skim Penempatan Semula yang didakwa lambat meskipun pembinaan empangan bernilai RM310 juta itu yang menjejaskan 359 keluarga sudah lama siap dan menunggu untuk penakungan air bagi memulakan operasi membekalkan air kepada penduduk di seluruh bahagian Kuching.
Baru-baru ini, individu yang dikenali sebagai Jaochim Leong, pengarah filem bebas yang menerbitkan filem pendek – Ulu Bengoh Darum Piin – berharap untuk menyediakan penjana hidro mini kepada penduduk terjejas di penempatan baru yang dipilih mereka.
Leong, 25, berkata, kos untuk menyediakan penjana hidro mini itu adalah antara RM50,000 hingga RM100,000 dan beliau kini sedang giat menjalankan kutipan sumbangan daripada orang ramai bagi menjayakan projek tersebut melalui penjualan DVD filemnya yang berharga RM12 seunit.
Temu bual dengan calon yang bertanding merebut kerusi DUN Bengoh pada pilihan raya
negeri lepas namun tewas di tangan Dr Jerip Susil, Willie Mongin berkata, inisiatif yang dibuat Jaochim itu adalah baik kerana ia bagi membantu penduduk namun menyifatkan ia hanyalah sia-sia sekiranya keputusan tetap untuk memindahkan penduduk.
“Jika polisi dan dasar sesetengah pihak pada hari ini terus dengan hasrat untuk mendesak penduduk Ulu Bengoh ini berpindah dan jika keputusan mahkamah tidak memihak kepada mereka, maka sudah tentu usaha Jaochim terjejas dan menjadi kurang bermakna kerana suka atau tidak penduduk yang terjejas ini terpaksa berpindah ke kawasan penempatan baru,” katanya.
Dalam pada itu, Willie turut menyatakan kekecewaannya terhadap cara pengendalian pemindahan penduduk terjejas, yang mana
sewajarnya perbincangan
proses tersebut melibatkan setiap ketua keluarga dari kampung-kampung terlibat, ketua-ketua kampung, wakil rakyat kawasan tersebut dan wakil NGO.
Beliau berkata, dengan adanya platform sedemikian, penerangan akan dapat diberikan kepada penduduk secara langsung, hasrat tuntutan mereka dapat dikumpulkan dan segala perundingan serta soal jawab dapat dibincang secara kolektif.
Selain itu, beliau turut mempersoalkan proses pelaksanaan projek Empangan Bengoh yang pembinaannya sudah siap tetapi penempatan baru belum siap dan mendakwa itu menunjukkan kegagalan perancangan yang ketara ibarat ‘sudah terberak, jamban dibina’.
“Kenapa pampasan penuh belum dibuat tetapi pihak terbabit boleh terus membina empangan sehingga siap dan kenapa senarai pampasan tidak dinyatakan secara bertulis kepada setiap penduduk yang terjejas?
“Sudah tentu mereka berasa dalam dilema dan tertekan acap kali hanya mendengar melalui media dan sumber tidak rasmi,” kata Willie sambil menambah agar Jawatankuasa Khas yang baru ditubuhkan untuk membuat tinjauan baru untuk mengenal pasti sama ada penduduk benar-benar enggan berpindah atau enggan berpindah kerana tuntutan mereka masih belum ditunaikan lagi seperti diberi rumah percuma serta bayaran pampasan.
Dalam pada itu, Willie turut menjelaskan pandangannya itu bukannya untuk membantah projek Empangan Bengoh tetapi beliau amat tidak bersetuju dengan cara pelaksanaan dan pampasan yang diberi.
Mengulas lanjut, beliau berkata telah difahamkan bahawa tapak perkampungan lama itu akan digunakan sebagai pusat pelancongan dan jika benar, adalah sewajarnya penduduk tidak perlu dipindahkan kerana itu juga akan dapat menjimatkan kos kerajaan untuk membayar pampasan dan menyediakan penempatan semula.
“Kalau boleh digunakan sebagai pusat pelancongan, kenapa pula penduduk ini perlu dipindahkan… kenapa tidak diserapkan mereka untuk terlibat sama dalam industri pelancongan itu sendiri tanpa perlu berpindah?
“Dari segi risiko juga, kampung-kampung ini yang berada di hulu empangan amat kurang risiko berbanding Kampung Bengoh, Kampung Danu dan Kampung Semadang yang terletak di hilir empangan,” katanya.
Namun demikian, Willie juga menyatakan pendapatnya bahawa ada baiknya penduduk-penduduk tersebut mahu berpindah sekiranya mendapat pampasan yang munasabah.
“Sebab, kalau mereka berpindah kemudahan seperti air bersih, jalan raya, bekalan elektrik dan prasarana lain akan dapat mereka kecapi,” ujarnya.

MENANTI DITENGGELAMI: Gambar Kampung Rejoi, yang penduduknya turut terjejas akibat pembinaan Empangan Bengoh.

Bengoh film turn heads in Kuching!

2011-11-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

A very positive review of the film by Hornbill Unleashed-`boost for participatory democracy in Sarawak':

Films and Freedom

— Hornbill Unleashed @ 12:03 AM

Pak Bui
The Freedom Film Fest received an enthusiasic welcome when it came to Kuching and Miri during the last weekend of October.
This is the fourth year this excellent film festival has come to Sarawak, showing challenging films about human rights, politics and democracy, sexuality, religion, indigenous people’s issues and society – far more intriguing films than the standard commercial drivel in our cineplexes.
The five films screened were free, in more sense than one. The festival was open to all Sarawakians, and all were welcome, with only a collection box going around.
The crowd in Kuching were mostly young, bubbly and courteous. There were around 300 people packed into the narrow conference room at the Harbour View Hotel.
Many of the participants – for they weighed into debates and discussions, and were not simply a passive audience – were college students, from all ethnic groups.

Driven from their land and robbed
The ‘sensitive’ subject matter of the films included the failure of empty promises by BN politicians to poor Bidayuh communities in Bengoh.
The film also examined the failure of PKR to offer a credible candidate as an alternative to BN’s lies and corruption in Bengoh during the April state election.
The Bengoh villagers were eventually driven from their land, and taxpayers were robbed of public money.
This dam is a shameful project, ostensibly planned to supply clean water to Kuching until 2030, but is in fact clearly designed to divert the flow of taxpayers’ money into the bank accounts of cronies of the BN chief minister in tax havens abroad.
The film-makers, represented by Joachim Leong, had trekked for many hours with cameras to visit villagers displaced by the dam.
The film pointed out the material hardships the villagers faced, and the broken BN promises of a resettlement area with modern amenities.
At least 20 families have built their own resettlement village upstream, ignoring the government’s promise for a resettlement (one that remains unbuilt, until today).
The cameras followed these villagers’ hike uphill, carrying their own planks and building materials, to a plateau with astoundingly beautiful views over the misty hills.
These families have been threatened by the BN that they will not receive ‘development’, in retaliation for their defiance.
But these villagers know only too well that the BN had promised ‘development’ to Batang Ai and Bakun communities, but had only delivered hardship, dependency and bitter disappointment.
A boost for participatory democracy
The film noted that PKR’s candidate for Bengoh, Willie Mongin, had not even visited the Bengoh villages during the election campaign.
BN’s Jerip Susil, on the other hand, had made plenty of promises to the communities by flying in on a helicopter.
In hindsight, the real surprise of the Bengoh election was not that Jerip won unexpectedly, but that such a weak PKR candidate managed 4447 votes!
During the discussion that followed, DAP MP and state assembly representative Chong Chien Jen admitted Pakatan needed to vet young, untested candidates before the upcoming general election.
YB Chong then answered a question from the audience on Pakatan’s readiness to form the next government, at federal and state, by pointing out the alternative budget and land reform policies laid out by Pakatan in Sarawak.
Observers of Sarawak politics will recognise that our political development will take years to produce true participatory democracy.
We need better education of our voters, and better access to information for all Sarawakians, including the rural electorate.
The Freedom Film Fest is a small step on this journey, but it is certainly a boost for participatory democracy in Sarawak.
The interest from the audience in the films, as well as the discussions in between films, was a sign of change, albeit slow, in the political awareness of our young, regarding democracy and freedom.
True freedom is not the liberty to do as we please, or live the ‘lifestyle’ we choose.
True freedom entails education, difficult choices, and sacrifice. It also requires us to decide how to use these hard-won freedoms.
The Freedom Film Fest tries hard to make us think about these issues. We ought to welcome it every year, and more.

Why were Bengoh folks not asked if they want to move out of dam area?

2011-11-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Bengoh dam is making news for all the wrong reasons-the Auditor General's report is an example. But the dam is also open to other criticism viz the dam is designed to supply 2100mil litres of raw water/day to Kuching, which only consumes 600mil litres of raw water/day. The dam is over sized-such that the politicians are talking openly about releasing a big part of the water to generate electricity! Were the Bengoh folks ever asked if they agree to sacrifice for all these anomalies?

Joseph Tawie
Why is the Sarawak government forcing Bengoh Dam natives to shift to a resettlement scheme which the Auditor General’s Report 2010 has described as ‘unsuitable’?
The Sarawak government has been urged to immediately carry out a census poll on the 394 families from four villages affected by the construction of the multi-million ringgit Bengoh Dam.

State opposition PKR said a completed census would show how many families and villagers from Kampung Taba Sait, Rejoi, Bojong-Pain and Semban would be willing to shift to the resettlement scheme between Kampung Semadang and Skio.
“This census is necessary because the resettlement scheme risks being an expensive flop as the affected villagers appear not in favour of moving into the resettlement scheme,” said See Chee How, Sarawak PKR vice-chairman.
See, a lawyer who is also representing the villagers, said the census was imperative considering the recent Auditor General’s Report 2010 which had strongly criticized the Bengoh Dam project.
“I must draw the public’s attention to the drawback of the Bengoh Dam project as it had attracted much criticism from the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 published two weeks ago.
“The Auditor-General’s Report has actually identified two areas of vital concerns. Firstly, it found the resettlement for the affected families to be ‘unsuitable’ and ‘questionable’.
“Secondly, completion of the dam project has been delayed and as a result they expect the cost to over-run to RM58 million,” he said.
Resettlement scheme ‘unsuitable’
Work on the dam, which is situated some 40 kilometres from here, began in July 2007.
Once completed it will supply untreated water to the Kuching Water Board’s treatment plant until 2030.
The dam was scheduled for completion in December 2010 but as of February 2011, only 97.3% of the dam has been completed.
The initial cost of the dam is RM310.65 million but the delay is expected to cost the government an additional RM60. 57 million.
According to the AG’s Report, the delay was due to poor coordination between land acquisition, the resettlement of nearby villagers and the preparation of the Bengoh Residents Resettlement Scheme.
The report has found the resettlement location ‘unsuitable’ and ‘questionable’.
Said See: “As the Auditor-General’s Report was vague on the first issue (unsuitability and questionable resettlement location), the state BN government seems to have found an excuse to its shortcoming.
“The MP for Mambong James Dawos Mamit and Bengoh assemblyman Jerip Susil had commented and declared that the Auditor-General’s Report was referring to the original plan of resettling the affected villagers near Kampung Bayur.
“However, since the dam project was carried out in 2007, the affected villagers have been told of the resettlement site near Kampung Semadang and not Kampung Bayur.
“There is no reason why the AG’s Report was referring to any original resettlement plan near Kampung Bayur.”
AG’s Report exposed flaws
See, who is also the Batu Lintang assemblyman, pointed out that the AG’s Report had exposed an ill-conceived resettlement plan of which there was no prior consultation with the affected village families.
“Whether the resettlement scheme is near Kampung Bayur or Kampung Semadang, it appears that the affected village families are not moving into the resettlement scheme.
“As of today, these affected Bidayuh families are building their new houses in Mok Ayung, Nyagong, Sting and Kandong which are all situated in upper Bengoh, not far from their original village settlements.
“On the other hand, many families of Kampung Semban are determined to stay put as their traditional village site will not be affected by the water impoundment.
“In view of this, a census or poll on the 394 families and 1,595 former villagers of Kampung Taba Sait, Rejoi, Bojong and Semban all of whom are affected by the dam is now necessary to determine the number of families who are willing to be resettled at the resettlement scheme between Kampung Semadang and Skio,” he said.
See described the census as particularly crucial now as the implementation of the project has been delayed and the AG’s Report 2010 has found that the state would have to bear an additional cost.
No benefit to villagers
The report noted that in September 2010, the Works Department had recommended that villagers be temporarily relocated to a nearby area.
It expected the total cost, including housing rental and allowances to cost RM39.81 million, an amount to be borne by Sarawak government.
The audit, however, estimated that this cost could easily balloon to RM58.37 million depending on the state government’s decision on the resettlement issue.
Said See: “So far there has been no response from the state cabinet, but the costs are escalating by the day.
“Meanwhile, additional works in road construction and improvement together with flood mitigation work worth more than RM2.5 million have been added to the cost overruns.
“Such cost overruns could have been avoided had there been transparency and good governance.
“The state government owes all Sarawakians and Malaysians in general an explanation on its failure as the country can ill-afford such hefty cost of mismanagement and poor governance.
“To avoid the hefty cost overruns, I would suggest that the state government seriously considers the option of allowing the affected Bidayuh villagers to construct their houses on their ancestral land which is outside and above the area which will be inundated.
“After all, if the affected villagers have decided not to move into the resettlement scheme, there is no point in spending more money for works at the resettlement scheme.
“It will only prove to be an expensive flop, and become the quarters of plantation workers who are foreigners or settlers from other parts of the state.
“No benefit will be brought to the affected villagers,” he said.

Vague compensation package that won the Bengoh voters?

2011-11-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

Look at these promises to the Bengoh villagers affected by the Bengoh dam:
* FREE housing to replace the old houses-BUT the Federal government which is expected to foot the bill has not approved it; what if the approval never come?
* MORE land than 3 acres will be given to displaced villagers; Currently the re-settlement area in Kg Semadang is rather congested-with existing residents using most of the lands; where can the government find new land for the Bengoh villagers?
* Consultation with the people eg choosing their re-settlement area; However the government re-settlement area is chosen by the government alone; Most importantly the people are not consulted on whether they want to move-only the compensation is being discussed;
Can such vague promises win over the voters of Bengoh? The only circumstance where they can `impress' the voters would be when there is no challenge to these vague promises from other candidates.

Bengoh natives still blur about compensation package

Joseph Tawie

| November 1, 2011

The Sarawak government must ensure that the natives affected by the Bengoh Dam don't end up 'poorer and marginalised'.

KUCHING: The Sarawak government must pay the families and villagers who are affected by the construction of the Bengoh Dam adequate compensation that takes into account their immediate and long term needs.

Making this call, a former diplomat John Tenewi Nuek said the villagers had made a “tremendous and invaluable sacrifice” in leaving their ancestral sites.

“The affected villagers are making tremendous and invaluable sacrifices for the construction of the dam and it is only fair and just that they be given a comprehensive, adequate and fair package of compensation that takes into account their short-term as well as their long-term interests.

“All efforts must be taken to ensure that they don’t end up poorer and more marginalised.

“The mistakes of the Batang Ai and Bakun dams must not be repeated,” said Tenewi who is also a Sarawak PKR vice president.

Tenewi was responding to Bengoh assemblyman Jerip Susil’s rebut of the Auditor General’s Report 2010.

The report had stated, among others, that the resettlement location identified for natives affected by the construction of the RM315 million Bengoh Dam to be ‘unsuitable’ and ‘questionable’.

AG’s ‘outdated’ knowledge

Susil clarified that AG Report saying that the fact was outdated and that the report was based on the ‘initial site and not the present one’.

Susil who is State Assistant Public Health Minister said the original site was near Kampung Bayur whilst the present site was between Semadang in Penrissen and Ski-o in Bau.

“We were informed that initial proposed resettlement site near Bayur was not suitable because the area was too hilly.

“That was why the present site between Semadang in Penrissen and Ski-o in Bau was then proposed,” he reportedly said.

Under the resettlement scheme, the 394 families and the 1,595 villagers from Kampung Taba Sait, Bojong, Pain, Rejoi and Semban would be given free houses and acres of land per family in the new location.

However Susil did not reveal details of the housing facilities.

A disappointed Tenawi said Susil’s comment was “vague and misleading”.

“Jerip (Susil)’s statement is very disappointing to say the least. It was vague and misleading.

“Even at this point when the dam is about to be impounded, Jerip (Susil) could not say what size of land and what type of houses would be given to these villagers.

“He said only they would be given ‘free houses and acres of land per family’.

“This is totally unacceptable.

“Instead of only vague and misleading promises the villagers by now should already know the exact compensations that would be given to them,” said Tenawi.

Compensation still not finalised

He said that under ‘normal’ circumstances, a project developer would have determined and finalised the compensation package before commencement of work on the project.

“Indeed, the compensation package should have been determined and finalised before the decision was made whether or not to build the dam,” he said.

He hoped the villagers, many of whom have big belian houses, would not have to move into homes which are “slightly better than chicken sheds”.

Bengoh film in the news: rural folks are key to change in Malaysia!

2011-11-01T04:58:00.001-07:00

Activists reveal Bengoh villagers puzzling voting trend

By Yam Phui Yee

To whose benefit… the Bengoh Dam will benefit greater Kuching and Samarahan but displace about 1,500 Bidayuhs from their ancestral land. Photos courtesy of Joachim Leong

In rural Bengoh, Sarawak, 1,500 villagers will be displaced by the Bengoh Dam. They have to give up their ancestral land, relocate and settle for compensation they are not sure is fair and whether it will be forthcoming. Despite faithfully voting in the Barisan Nasional government for years, they still lack basic amenities. But, they still vote for the BN.

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Puzzled by this voting trend, activist Ong Boon Keong and his friends set off to find out the reason for it by filming a documentary called Ulu Bengoh Darom Piin (Upper Bengoh Under Water).

“This film is to find out why despite being ‘oppressed’, they still chose the people that brought the dam and caused them troubles… Our mission is to get as close as possible to the circumstances on how they make the vote option.

Ong ... Indigenous people forced to leave their ancestral land is a typical issue in Sarawak.

“We also want to show that the distant view from outside – people who say ‘why are you so stupid to vote the same people that caused them problems?’ – is a very superficial one. They don’t understand that from the villagers’ point of view, they don’t have a choice; the (candidates) don’t even come in front of them for them to ask questions,” said Ong, an award-winning filmmaker who has been banned from entering Sarawak since May.

The Malaysian Election Observers Network coordinator is easily recognised by his trademark long, white beard and has been exposing vote-buying and abuse of power, particularly in Sarawak, the state with the most election seats.

Indigenous people forced to leave their ancestral land is a typical issue in Sarawak, Ong explained, and events in the interiors often do not reach local newspapers' pages.

Deep in the jungles

Located deep in the jungles about 45 minutes away from Kuching, Ulu Bengoh is only accessible by foot. The Bidayuh villagers here carry heavy loads, including gas tanks and rations, across 10- to 15m-high ingeniously-crafted bamboo bridges into their longhouses.

First-time film director Joachim Leong recalled the villagers living in extreme economic poverty, with some homes having only solar energy enough to power one light bulb.

“We have taken a lot of things for granted… they have very little yet they are very happy,” said Leong, adding that the villagers, who are mostly Christians and Catholics, would give thanks before meals.

Ingenious … the Bidayuhs of Ulu Bengoh make 10- to 15m-high bamboo bridges like this one and walk on it with their heavy loads to their longhouses.

Four villages in Ulu Bengoh will be affected by the Bengoh Dam. Kampung Rejoi, Kampung Saba Tait and Kampung Bojong/ Pain will be fully submerged, while Kampung Semban located on a higher ground will be partially affected. The dam, costing RM310 million, was completed last year and is expected to operate next year once all compensation and free houses are given to the villagers.

Raw water from Bengoh Dam will overcome water shortage in the greater Kuching and Samarahan areas until 2030. However, it will destroy forests, habitats and longstanding cultures that cannot be replaced.

Looming questions

The plight of the Bidayuhs in Ulu Bengoh has been documented in Australian multimedia artist Andrew Garton’s short video series where some villagers interviewed said they were reluctant to evacuate and were unsure if the government would keep their compensation promises.

The indigenous people’s lives are closely tied to their land, including those for houses, farming, foraging, cemetery and communion, but the state government would only compensate selected parts of these areas, claiming that the rest are government reserve land.

Soon, some 1,500 villagers will be displaced when the dam is impounded. According to Leong, about 20 families have filed a lawsuit to assert their right and declare the land as Native Customary Land, even though this will not stop the reservoir project.

Some 60 families out of over 200 have decided to move to higher grounds instead of leaving their land. Those who choose this will not be compensated.

Even villagers in the higher areas of Kampung Semban who are not affected by the dam impoundment have been asked to evacuate.

Leong … we have taken a lot of things for granted.

“When we were in Semban, someone said the houses will be left intact for homestay. So there is suspicion that they (the government) want to use it for an eco-tourism resort. So the question is also ‘Why do you chase out the villagers instead of helping and empowering them to run the homestay?’ ” said former lawyer Leong, 24.

Ong observed that the same thing also happened around the Bakun Dam and Batang Ai Dam, both in Sarawak.

Voting mystery

Against the landscape of concerns surrounding the dam and relocation, Bengoh was a hot seat that pundits said BN may lose during the Sarawak state election in April. Still, incumbent Dr Jerip Susil from BN won a four-cornered fight to become a three-term assemblyman, pledging to settle all outstanding issues, including compensations for those leaving Ulu Bengoh.

Many people do not know that in Peninsular Malaysia, one-third of the population live in urban areas while two-thirds of the state seats are in rural places.

According to Ong, the picture is even more skewed in Sarawak: one-third of the population are urbanites but four-fifths or 79 per cent of the seats are in rural areas.

“If you want better democracy, it cannot be that the urban people don’t want to know about rural area (issues),” he said.

Ong has brought some 80 volunteers in small groups from all across Malaysia to register voters in rural Sarawak prior to the state election and monitor the election. Some of these volunteers, like Leong and another youth, Lee Weng Yow, joined the film crew afterwards.

Lee … they have a lot to say but they don’t say it to outsiders.

Lee noticed something peculiar while monitoring the election in rural Sebuyau. “I was astonished by how little communication there was between voters and candidate. They can have no event during the campaign period or they just come for five minutes, and still the votes go to BN.”

Ong explained that in rural areas, it is often a “one-party-campaign”.

Ulu Bengoh visitors have to walk for hours to the villages and Ong believed none of the four candidates went in during the campaign period, except BN candidate Dr Jerip who flew in with a helicopter. An independent candidate was said to have visited the constituency but Ong could not verify whether it was during campaign period.

He refused to reveal further what caused the voting pattern but only smiled and said, “You have to come and watch it” when the film premieres at the Freedom Film Fest 2011 in Kuala Lumpur.

Making a difference

The film crew, comprising East and West Malaysians including a geologist, an animator and a retired engineer, braved challenging terrains while shooting in Ulu Bengoh. Lee nearly fainted while hiking up an almost vertical slope in the rain to reach Kampung Semban.

Lee and Leong walked for almost two days to cover the four villages. They had to build rapport with the Bidayuhs quickly to get a real picture of the voters’ dilemma.

“They have a lot to say but they don’t say it to outsiders,” said Lee, whose experience working with villagers in Sebuyau came in handy.

The film’s blog called See Bengoh When It Is Still Dry (www.bengohdry.blogspot.com) chronicles the team’s journey and has photos of the beautiful forest and its people.

Search for answers … Leong (left) and Lee (second from right) had to walk for almost two days in their three-day filming expedition in the forest.

The film crew enjoyed the pristine jungle in its last days and spent time with the villagers in their homes. They also noticed that the education level is low, unemployment is high and youths as young as 17 years old have to leave to seek jobs in the cities, returning occasionally, mostly for holidays.

For Leong, a Sarawakian based in Kuala Lumpur, engaging directly with the subject this time was a change from his usual commenting on online reports and blogs about the state.

“Anyone can make a difference. Be the change you want to see,” he said.

"Ulu Bengoh Darom Piin" will be screened at Freedom Film Fest 2011 in Kuching on Oct 29 and Miri on Oct 30. Visit www.fredomfilmfest.komas.org for details. Proceeds from DVD sale of the film will go towards villagers who choose to remain in Ulu Bengoh.

Politics of mini hydro in Lacau-hidden story revealed!

2011-10-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

Barnie Lasimbang(L) and Niloh(R) in BB Cafe in KK

We published a story of a mini hydro in Kg Abok Mawang, Lachau previously. It was reportedly a story of community self-help and gotong royong. There was more to this story that met the eyes, according to Banie Lasimbang, an laternative energy consultant who has installed more than a couple of dozens of mini hydros before in Sabah and Sarawak in the last decade. The story was shocking: the original beneficiary of the mini hydro project was another kampong (Kg Apin?) -but due to the `generous' contribution by local `YBs' the power was supplied to Kg Abok Mawang-which was as far as the YB's generosity could reach! The people involved ignored the consultant's suggestion to modify the design slightly so that there would be enough power to supply to both villagers!

This is scandalous! That may explain more why there have not been as many mini hydros as interior Sarawakians may want! Lesson: if you can build something on self-sufficient basis you have more say on how the benefits would be distributed ie you can have more hope of doing justice to all parties involved. If you have YBs with agendas `chipping' in they buy their way into a position to divert the whole intention of the project!
From the previous reports you did not read the following:
1. The original instigator of the mini hydro project Jacob Emang was disappointed with the outcome of the project that he started;
2. Many other helpers were also disappointed eg SADIA's Secretary General Nicholas Mujah;
However the mini hydro is lying idle after SESCO was shamed into extending the power lines to the kampongs around Lacau. This may well be the only positive outcome from the unspeakable episode!
Next time when you read of a news which could be too good to be true: look around for alternative sources/commentaries to balance your knowledge about it!
We hereby apologise to readers for unknowingly passing on a `good' news!

Good news from my meeting with Barnie on Oct 26th in Kota Kinabalu: he is willing to offer his expertise to install the mini hydros for Bengoh folks-from workshop to learn to make accurate measurement of the essential data of the site and to installation, including fund raising! This is an offer that is hard to refuse!

Fundraising for Bengoh villagers' mini hydro go public!

2011-10-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

Joachim Leong recording for a video `Make your vote count'

The Bengoh film finally is exposed to the public in Sarawak itself via a report in Borneo Post today! (See attachment below). It is the only film about Sarawak in the Freedom Film Fest-and made by Kuching born director Joachim Leong, Niloh Ason of Simunjan and also Lee Zhi Eng of Bintulu! A quible by the director on the report is that he did not quite put choice of candidate as `the major' factor' behind the voters choosing a dam-supporting candidate in Bengoh. He clarified that he only said that the factor could be a reason for that happening, in a context where there is little information on how democracy can work for voters benefits.

Update one: public fundraising for Bengoh villagers' mini hydro is now open! If you are interested to donate, please contact organiser through meonet2010@gmail.com

Update two: as of now the gross amount of fund raised is closed to Rm4k!

So: Malaysians -do come forward to show you care to take Bengoh villagers out of the darkness that engulfed them thus far!

Film director to get generator for Bengoh folk

Posted on October 30, 2011, Sunday

KUCHING: Joachim Leong, the director of independent film `Ulu Bengoh Darum Piin’ (Upper Bengoh Under Water), hopes to get a mini-hydro generator for the villagers affected by the Bengoh Dam when they moved to their resettlement areas.

JOACHIM LEONG

Leong, a non-practising lawyer, said the cost of the mini-hydro generator was between RM50,000 and RM100,000, based on the quotations he had received thus far.

He added that the installation cost could be as low as RM20,000 if the affected villagers lend a helping hand during the installation process.

Leong, 25, said the required funds would be raised through selling the film’s DVDs at RM12 each. As at Oct 21, he had raised about RM3,000.

The three villages directly affected by the dam are Kampung Taba Sait, Kampung Pain Bojong and Kampung Rejoi. Although Kampung Semban will not be flooded by the dam water, the government had decided that it had to move as well to the resettlement area at Kampung Semadang.

The RM310 million Bengoh dam project affects about 1,500 people from 250 families.

Among others, the 20-minute film showed that villagers of Kampung Taba Sait, Kampung Pain Bojong and Kampung Rejoi who refused to move to Kampung Semadang were in the process moving to other areas of their choosing.

Leong said the main reason for making the film was because he wanted to know why the affected villagers still voted for the BN in the last state election even though many were not happy with the dam project.

“Yes, I was surprised with the election result. This is because all the mainstream media reported that Bengoh was a hot seat but in the end, nothing had changed,” he said.

He said he believed the choice of candidates by the opposition was a major factor which had influenced the decision of voters, apart from the lack of awareness on the dam’s issues.

The film showed that none of the three opposition candidates, namely Willie Mongin of PKR, Richard @ Peter Margaret (SNAP) and Wejok Tomik (Independent), had visited the affected villages during the election campaign.

Dr Jerip Susil of the BN retained the seat with a majority of 3,646 votes.

Leong said he hoped his debut film would spur more people to get involved in the democracy movement.

“As you can see (in the film), the people (the villagers) don’t see how democracy could apply to them. So, it is a bit of a pity as Malaysia is a democratic country. But, surprisingly, there are some who are doing what they think is right,” he said.

On his next project, Leong said he might be filming something fun.

‘Ulu Bengoh Darum Piin’ was one of eight independent films shown at Harbour View Hotel during the Freedom Film Festival (FFF) here yesterday.

FFF was organised by Komas, a human rights non-governmental organisation (NGO), and funded by the European Union (EU).

For more information on Leong, his crew members and their projects, log on to bengohdry.blogspot.com.

If you want to donate to

the mini-hydro generator project, email meonet2010.gmail.com.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/10/30/film-director-to-get-generator-for-bengoh-folk/#ixzz1cEVSiqVv

Truth on Bengoh emerge from Auditor General's report!

2011-10-27T23:25:00.000-07:00

Re-settlement site still not ready for Bengoh folks.

Earlier there was a report that the government selected re-settlement site was not suitable-but now fuller details from the much missed report reveal more problems with the dam: cost over-run!

Acquisition, resettlement send Bengoh cost spiralling

Sarawak's yet-to-be completed Bengoh Dam could cost an additional RM60.57 million, according to the 2010 Auditor General's Report.

PETALING JAYA: Severe delays in the construction of Sarawak’s Bengoh Dam could send costs skyrocketing by an additional RM60.57 million, warned the 2010 Auditor-General’s Report.

Kg Semadang/Tmn Tun Abdul Razak-still an empty patch!

The dam, located about 40km from Kuching, will supply untreated water to the Kuching Water Board’s treatment plant until 2030.

The initial construction cost stands at RM310.65 million. The amount was a secured loan from the federal government.

Work began in July 2007 and was scheduled for completion in December 2010 but as of February 2011, only 97.3% of the dam has been completed.

The audit report has attributed the delay to poor coordination between land acquisition, the resettlement of nearby villagers and the preparation of the Bengoh Residents Resettlement Scheme.

The dam will affect 1,585 people from four villages.

The audit report found that as of February 2011, the land acquisition and resettlement processes were far from complete as the resettlement site had been changed numerous times.

“To avoid flooding in the affected villages during the dam construction, an additional culvert had to be built costing RM1.65 million.

“This further required additional work to secure a section of the Bengoh riverbank downstream which cost another RM0.55 million,” noted the report.

Resettlement issues stalls work

In September 2010, the Works Department recommended that villagers be temporarily relocated to a nearby area.

It said that the total cost, including housing rental and allowances, would amount to RM39.81 million and would be borne by Sarawak government.

The audit, however, estimated that this cost could easily balloon to RM58.37 million.

The audit also found that the delay in resettlement had stalled work on the water catchment area, which was originally scheduled to begin on June 2010.

As a result, mechanical and electrical equipment like pipes and sluice valves could not be installed, tested and handed over to the Works Department.

The audit report estimated the cost of extending the warrant on these equipment at RM5.20 million.

The current cost of storing the equipment stands at RM136,000.

The dam is now only expected to be fully operational by the end of 2013.

Posted & copy by RAKYAT MARHAEN at 10/27/2011 02:55:00 PM

Scandal:Auditor General report exposed Bengoh re-settlement site as `unsuitable'!

2011-10-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

Kg Semadang re-settlement area has just been started-but its unsuitability could have been known 2 years back!

According to the Auditor General's report just released at Parliament the government's re-settlement for villagers displaced by the Bengoh dam has been found to be `unsuitable', as quoted by journalist Sulok Tawie. The disclosure is scadalous: the AG report is usually dated 2 years back; so why is the developer still proceeding with the building of the new re-settlement scheme at Kampong Semadang while the `unsuitability' of the site has already been known 2 years back? Are they forging ahead following the same pattern that they had been building the dam ie keep the villagers in the dark?

The film crew of the Bengoh film has found the re-settlement site to be unsuitable when she visited the area in August: the area can accommodate the housing but not the 3-acre agriculture land to be allocated to each displaced family, numbering over 200. The land is swampy and also there are already existing communities in Kg Semadang. Shades of the same Sg Asap re-settlement problems! When can the government learn-or bother to learn? Sg Asap re-settlement caters for the 10 000 natives displaced by the giantic Bakun dam. Problems from the dam still linger after 10 years that the natives have taken a gamble to move there!

Sad to say even the 1st big dam construction at Batang Ai still cause complaints by the re-settled residents. The government never seems to have got it right in its re-settlement policy -and recurrence of these problems can be expected for the 12 more huge dams planned for the state after bakun dam!

Kg Nyukol, the preferred re-settlement village for half of Kg Rejoi villagers.

Already close to half of the 3 villages affected by Bengoh dam had built new houses at where they prefer to move vie to higher ground to the dam -but still within their NCR lands! Similar choices have been made by some Bakun dam-displaced villagers.

Raising fund for Bengoh's mini hydros-1 DVD at a time! !

2011-10-21T04:27:00.000-07:00

A `dream' for Bengoh folks?But you can help them make it come true! Will you-fellow Malaysians-to liberate fellow citizens from darkness lietrally and figuratively?

This next week will see us going to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to screen the Bengoh film, while promoting the voter education and voter observation programs to Sabah. No where is too far for us to promote the DVDs and voters rights!

We will have a screening of the Bengoh film according to the following details:
Date: Oct 26th(Wednesday)
Time: 7.00pm
Venue: Celyn Hotel, next to City Mall
Programs: *Talk on `Why election observation for coming 13th General Elections?'
*screening of `Ulu Bengoh Darom Piin'
Speaker: Ong BK, MEO-Net National Coordinator
Entrance: FREE-bring all your friends!

Sales and collection from our DVDs cross RM3000.00 mark today! Gross total stands at Rm3017.00 as of now.

14 DVDs were sold to my friends who were arrested together at an anti-ISA candlelight vigil at PJCC 2 years ago! Due to frequent meeting at the court -which happened every month or so we had become so chummy that I managed to sell 14 DVD to about 20 OKT (Orang Kena Tangkap/arrestees) present! This is a special mix with MP(Tony Pua), Selangor Exco(Liu Thean Kiu), Councilor (Teoh Why Kheng), pastor (Fr Poleno), lawyers(Ashok Kendayan), Citizen Journalist (Lim), lecturer(Andrew Ng), Radio DJ(Arif Abdul with Durian FM), etc etc. It is also a muhibbah group consisting of the MIC members (Malays, Indians, Chinese and a few in between and `others').

Our target is about Rm40k. So we are still below even 10% of the target.after 2 weeks of pushing. But it is not impossible. More screenings/DVD sales are coming up:

Oct 22nd-a Sarawakians gathering in KL

Oct 29th -screening with Freedom Film Fest in Kuching; Director Joachim Leong and cameraman cum narrator Lee Weng Yow will both fly in to attend the screening! Niloh, another camerawoman who stay in Kuching, will also be there to help!

More screenings are planned eg with the KLSCAH. Details coming soonest!

So: Look Out! Let's us know if there is a group interested to watch the film and help out the mini hydro project! West Malaysians will stand to gain much knowledge on Sarawak through these screenings-something which we need for real democratisation of the country!

Ever wonder why there are not many mini hydros in Sarawak's interior?

2011-10-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

A 10kW mini hydro installed in Penampang, Sabah

If you have a chance to travel in Sarawak's interior you will find this familiar landscape: long houses with no electricity supply located next to fast streams or even waterfalls. Why is not mini hyro more popular in such locations? These are the 4 major reasons I had come across why mini hydro, despite its merit and low costs, don't quite make it big in rural Sarawak:

1. It is the government's responsibility to provide basic amenities like electricity to the people; the society, the NGOs have no business to provide them on charitable basis; if this arguement stands then a lot more things that the people can help themselves will be left to the government, which means, left never done; And the government utility that supply electricity SESCO, seems to take a long time to extend electricity supply to rural areas, citing the business consideration of slow returns in far flung, scattered areas; Yet they make a law that once the SESCO wires reach any village any local electricty generation would be considered illegal! Another point: if mini hydro is installed SESCO cannot charge the users for electricity!

2. The costs of installing mini hydro is very high. A community get their mini hydro installed by an overseas groups at purported USD$100 000.00. They had been citing this figure to others who enquired about mini hydro-effectively killing off any interests from the enquirers. What is not known is if the costs quoted by the overseas group-probably donated by some public fundraising, could be lowered significantly if the implementation involved more local inputs. Worst, there are indeed some commercial groups in towns who may want to make a killing to install mini hydros for these rural folks-thus hardening the impression in some rural folks that the costs of installing mini hydro is far beyond them;

3. There are also some well intended people who are afraid that electricity will erode the lifestyles and culture of the rural communities; There are bound to be effects from electricity on the lifestyles of people once they start using electricity-but the picture of people not using electricity already is mistaken. Many families in rural areas are using electricity the hard way ie generate electricity from diesel or petrol generators-which cost them a fortune over a year, considering that diesel and petrol price in this oil producing state is actually higher than in West Malaysia, especially after the fuel goes through a few hands/timber camps before reaching the interior. Under such conditions electricity is used only for a few hours at night, or only when there are visitors; After some mini hydros are installed in a few locations residents found that they could eliminate the use of tens of diesel generators and save over Rm100 000.00/year in fuel costs! (See example of Long Lawen below)

4. There is no expertise to install mini hydro. This could be true -but not unsurmountable. Eg a community in Lacau managed to install their mini hydro by various people in society coming together to poll their expertise and financial resources to see through the installation, which benefit a whole village. So: experise for this very old, mature technology, is available-but perhaps there is not enough information on how to go about getting help to get it done. Actually there are many villagers asking for mini hydro in view of the government's failures to bring electricity for many decades-there is indeed a vacuum for power supply in Sarawak's interior which can best be addressed with mini hydro! In fact there are 2 ways to generate hudro electricity viz 1. minihydro tapping into waterfall;2. waterwheels which tap into quick and big volume flows from rivers-both of which are mature technologies easily researched and well-supplied by many competitive suppliers;

A waterwheel that can generate electricity from streams.

From the above run down of the reasons given you can see that there is indeed a need for more mini hydros in rural Sarawak, and that non-commercial installations methods will be needed to keep costs low enough for rural folks to afford them. Perhaps the latter is the reason why there has not been so many minihydros around at places where they are most needed!

In an alternative government policy the rural residents could be subsidised to install such sustainable energy generators where the government itself is unlikely to be capable of extending electricity supply to these locations for a long time to come! While waiting for such a policy to come along the civil society can help by fundraising as well as training the rural folks to instal mini hydro themselves!

PR government offer installation of RM3200.00/household of hydro electricity to Selangor, how about BN?

Describing a successful experience in installing mini hydro in Long Lawen, Barnie, an NGO from PACOS said of the project there:

Long Lawen, Belaga, Sarawak 10Kw

Located in very remote village in upper Bakun. Approximately 7 hours by logging road from Bakun Dam. The micro hydro system supply 24 hrs electricity to 70 households, Kenyah Badang, ethnic group. The micro hydro system has displace use of 56 diesel and petrol generators. Saving about 15,000 liters of diesel annually, which is approximate RM 110,000 worth of diesel at location price (note: diesel selling at RM 7.50 per liter at nearby timber camp)

The micro hydro system is also integrated with rice mill mechanically operated by turbine at the power house contributing to the improvement of the livelihood of the community. This project was initiated in September 1999, Commissioned in April 2001.

5th screening and discussion on anti-dam campaign: more to come!

2011-10-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

Engineer, housewife, geologist, cab driver, construction worker, lecturer etc gathered for the Bengoh film screening last night at Puchong Book Club. (Thanks Cynthia for photo)

Last night there was a small group screening session of the Bengoh film cum discussion on the anti-dam campaign, held at Puchong's Book Club at 4.00pm. 16 persons turned up and a sum of RM154.00 was collected from the group through sales of DVD (12 copies) and donation(Rm10.00). This is the kind of activity that we will keep doing to spread the message where the mainstream media refused to print/air/broadcast. Big sections of the public will miss out if we hope to catch them by a few big scale screenings.No one should be deprived of such information if they want to access it. More groups are also approached to hold small gatherings where we can send presenter to speak to the group about the grave issues involved. Since the screening and discussions are informal, small scale, usually held indoor, there will not be problems which arise from big open gatherings. Also: only in small enough groups like this that effective discussion of issues and members participation can be assured.

lively discussion followed the screening-more are welcome!(Photo credit: Cynthia)

The members adjourned to a dinner at one of the many restaurants nearby after the 2-3hour discussion.

A number of attendants expressed that they were satisfied that their sunday afternoon was well spent.

The Puchong Book Club has been around quite a number of years now and hold weekly gathering to share issues of concern to the members-from socio-political to philosophical issues. Quite a few more similar books clubs operate in KL currently.

The screening was the 5th screening thus far. The other 4 screenings were:
1. Freedom Film Fest -PJ
2. Fredom Film Fest Penang
3. Screening to members of Rumah Api, Ampang
4. Screening at Pusat Rakyat of Loyarburok group

This is not to count smaller informal screenings by various members of the film crew and also satisfied members of the audiences.

So: if anyone can hold a small gathering for the screening of the Bengoh film and for discussing the anti-dam issues in Sarawak please contact us asap through: meonet2010@gmail.com or 013-5900339.

Bengoh DVDs to be censored before it can be sent overseas!

2011-10-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

DVD sleeve design for the Bengoh film

It was a pleasant surprise to get 2 orders for Bengoh DVDs from overseas. So I enquired about the postage at the Pos Laju and Post Office to find out the poatage so that I can inform the orderers the amount they have to add on to the DVD cost. To my surprise the Pos Laju asked me to obtain a stamp fro the KDN (Kementerian Dalam Negeri/Interior Ministry) before they will process the posting.He tried to reassure me that it does not take long and there is no extra charges to get the stamp. I tried the post office for regular mail. The answer was the same-need a stamp from the KDN. Well, look like there is no way to escape that. I remember that there were some hassles like this when I tried to send an entry to a Japanese film competition before, via a private courier company. Just could not remember how they finally settled it-but the DVD was sent over in time. Now I just have to try my luck personally this time.

I took a lift to the KDN office at 4th floor of a government building, next to the Generl Post Office, George Town. There was a girl at the counter. I asked how do I get a stamp for my DVD. She said it can only be done by a qualified officer, and no one was around. It was already 4.30pm at that time. I was a bit worried if I could not do it on that day. She called around to locate a qualified officer. Then I was so lucky that a young man in uniform turn up to the counter and offered to check my DVD for stamping. I was prepared for a long process as the Bengoh DVD was 25min long.

He really went through the DVD and asked me no less than 10 questions: What is this video about? (Ans: a documentary about the Bengoh vilagers facing eviction due to a dam)Are the residents in Bengoh opposed to the dam? (answer: no) Are they into asking for compensation? (answer : yes!) Are they holding any demonstration about the dam? (answer; no). The questions continue in this trend. It was more about the political aspect of the film than really the content and merit of the film. However a good thing from the questions was: he did not seems to pay much attention to the video and were fast forwarding it-probably also because the time was close to closing time for the office. He was satisfied with my asnwer and stamped 2 envelops containing a DVD each. I thank him and hurried over to the GPO to send it before they close shop for the day at 5.00pm.

What an experience in subjecting the Bengoh to censorship! But it was worrying as the officer could one day decide on some spurious ground or citing some obscure clauses in the law to refuse stamping on the envelop! Then???? Is there any appeal mechanism? What are the criteria of censorship? I cannot count on my luck if the same DVD were to be vetted by another `qualified' censorship officer! If there are more orders from overseas it will mean more runs to the Interior Ministry ala Ministry of Truth run by the Big Bro!

More screenings coming!

Meanwhile to promote the Bengoh film and to leverage on it to kick start an anti-dam campaign in West Malaysia we are going around to small community groups to show them the film and do a small presentation of the 12 big dams to be built in Sarawak. Next screening is at Puchong Book Club, 4.00pm, today (Oct 16th. All welcome to join this screening or call us to organise one for your community group at a convenient time and location for your members! Enq. 013-5900339 (Ong BK)or meonet2010@gmail.com

Bengoh film sparked off forward looking reflection

2011-10-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is the response in Face Book from Willie Mongin who was the only candidate who agreed to be interviewed for the Bengoh film-hope the film will spark off more positive forward looking reflection among all parties concerned:

- Willie Mongin
  
  Thanks for the highlight. In fact this is known, as I am the one who told them that I did not manage to cover the four villages but we do have our network that moving around in that area. This is why we managed to garnered some votes. Being transparent, we do admit our weaknesses and will formulate a better move next round.
  
  On the financial matter, it is also known and it is not only in Bengoh, it is state – wide as our PKR State Chief has mentioned it just right after the state elections was concluded. For me, I am ready to take any bricks and stones thrown at me and use it to build a solid foundation and wall of struggles instead. In politics, comes what may ! :)
  
  I believed, YB William Leong and YB Gan Pei Nee will be in better position to give their say also as they were with me throughout the elections campaigned. As for Selangor PKR executive councilor R Sivarasa and PKR national legal bureau chief Latheefa Koya will soon invite them to join me to my trip to Kampung Bojong, Pain, Rejoi and Semban. So that they will know where are these four villages...
  
  October 9 at 11:42pm
- Joachim Leong Props to Willie Mongin. He was the only candidate who was willing to be interviewed and open to answering our necessary and tough questions.
  
  There is alot of work to be done in Sarawak and we need all the help we can get for a better state.
  
  October 10 at 5:08pm

Lachau residents installed mini-hydro before-why not Bengoh villagers?

2011-10-12T00:03:00.000-07:00

Bojong villagers formed committee to oversee mini hydro installation

Our effort to install mini hydro for ulu Bengoh had attracted interests: a reader of the news about the Bengoh villagers trying to instal mini hydro informed us of a successful attempt to bring electricity to long house folks-in Lachau, near Sri Aman in recent years. If the folks there can do it -why not folks in Bengoh villages? Yet from another friend the location has now been supplied with electricity from SESCO -so the mini hydro is either lying idle or could be sold off? Read on:

Now, they have electricity...self supplied

Saturday, 28 July 2007

Tony Thien (Malaysiakini) For the residents of the 14-door Iban longhouse in Kampung Abok Mawang, located 150km on the Kuching-Sri Aman Road, the one invaluable lesson they have learnt well is about the importance of self-reliance and initiative to make things better for themselves.

At the corner of every general elections, they heard promises that electricity from the state utility company would come to the longhouse, situated along the highway, soon. But those promises have remained largely unfulfilled.

Tired of waiting, the tuai rumah (village headman) Donald Martin and his anekbiaks (longhouse dwellers) decided to do it themselves, with help from others.

The brain behind the self-help project is Jacob Emang, 58, (left) a former senior education officer and now a businessman.

With help from a Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) research & development team, headed by lecturer Martin Anyi and his colleagues, and a Public Works Department (PWD) team, headed by engineer Martin Jemut and his friends from Kuching and Sri Aman, they planned for a community-based micro mini hydro electric project, using the river half a kilometer away from the longhouse near the foot of the Klingkang Range as the source to power the turbine.

Labour was provided on a gotong-royong basis by the 200 longhouse people.

Martin Anyi and his friends volunteered on weekends to help with the project, Martin Jemut and his friends provided essential materials and supervised the construction, and the longhouse folks supplied the electrical wires.

The materials for the design and construction of the turbine came from Jacob Emang, who initiated the project to provide light for his own community in Kampung Abok.

There is no electricity for villages on a 60km stretch along the highway after Balai Ringin to Kampung Ran.

Promised by Najib
Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Najib Tun Razak promised the longhouse people during the last state election campaign in Pasar Lachau, 180km Kuching-Serian Road, in May 2006 they would be able to enjoy electricity soon.

To this day, state utility company Sesco had yet to extend electricity to the villages in the area.

Thanks to the spirit of self-reliance and self-initiative, persistency and devotion of efficient co-ordinated teamwork, the micro mini hydro project is able to supply 100kv output to benefit 200 people in Kampung Abok Mawang on a round-the-clock basis.

Now every bilik (door) in the longhouse has round-the-clock supply of electricity sufficient for lighting, for their refrigerators, TV and ironing.

Jacob told Malaysiakini he is working on a bigger project with help from what he described as his barefoot engineers Ziegler anak Kasaw and consultant Aldrian from Sabah to extend the hydro electricity to more villages in the area.

This time, he is relying on a workforce of some 600 people to come up with another 100kv power from Sanjau River in Sg Pulau.

The villagers are appealing to the elected representative of the area for help in supplying the required materials, and at the same time to the DPM to provide electricity from an alternative source, if Sesco is unable to extend power supply to the area.

Site investigation for Bengoh's mini-hydro return promising reports!

2011-10-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

Waterfall near Kg Rejoi's new settlement

Waterfall near Kg Bojong's new settlement

Looking at the waterfalls near to the 2 villages where the mini-hydro were to be installed: aren't they promising, with plenty of `head' (height of waterfall) and reasonable volume of water in Kg Rejoi's case and plentifull supply in Kg Bojong's case! It appear that producing over 15kW of electricity from both sites together is feasible-especially considering that there are likely to be much more height to the waterfall below the ponds shown here. A crude way to measure the flow rate of the waterfall near Kg Rejoi shows that the big water container filled in few seconds! From these basic information it is possible to work out the energy output, and from there to work out an appropriate turbine design and the dynamo/generator capacity. We are also near to estimating the costs of implementing the project, with the distances of the waterfalls from the new villages already measured. We thank the villagers who took quick action to report back to us, from the last meeting less than 2 weeks ago!

Measuring flow rate at waterfall near Kg Rejoi

Trying to measure flow rate at waterfall near Kg Bojong!

Side view of the higher waterfall(near Kg Rejoi)

Side view of lower waterfall (near Kg Bojong)

If you are interested to read up on what are the components and functioning of a mini-hydro generator a recomended read is here.

With very keen villagers and good waterfalls we are now left to locate the fund to implement the mini-hydro! Prospective donors are welcome to contact us thru meonet2010@gmail.com or call 013-5900339(BK Ong)

Gross DVD sales & donation for Bengoh's mini-hydro project approach RM2k! More welcome!

2011-10-10T04:14:00.000-07:00

Media launch of Bengoh film in Penang

Kg Rejoi's 5-man committee to take charge of the mini-hydro.

Halo folks,
Thanks to the enthusiastic response from the Bengoh film audiences over the last 2 weeks we had collected from sales and donation in KL and Penang a total of RM1911.00 as of today, which will go towards installing mini-hydro for Bengoh villagers, many of whom are still living in the dark literally and figuratively! While we have yet to calculate the costs involved to instal mini-hydro for families involved we are looking at RM35-40k to instal about 15kw of hydro electricity for the villages. So: we have made the 1st step and achieved 5% of the donations required by selling the DVD of the new Bengoh film. Please do your part to bring light to the villagers! The faster we achieve the target the earlier we can instal the mini-hydro generators. Interested folks can also hike up to the site to witness the installation of the mini-hydro.

Anyone interested to donate can write to our email: meonet2010@gmail.com or call me at 013-5900339(Ong BK-producer).

Gross DVD sales & donations

DVDs sold=126 XRm12.00=RM1512.00 ;

Donations =RM399.00

=RM1911.00

Merdeka Review: Donate towards mini-hydro for soon-to-be evicted Bengoh villagers!

2011-10-09T01:14:00.000-07:00

砂政府将火速建巴勒水坝
反水坝运动须东西马合作
作者／本刊曾薛霏 Oct 09, 2011 03:52:49 pm

【本刊曾薛霏撰述】由于砂州政府面对来自峇南上游原住民的大力发对，因而决定暂时搁置峇南水坝；不过，砂政府将加速建造巴勒水坝（Baleh Dam）。由于巴列河附近涉及的原住民仅约三百人，反对建造水坝人士担心这项计划在面对极少阻力的情况下火速完成。
狄莫迪（Timoti Anak Chundi）昨天在吉隆坡表示，他相信巴勒水坝很快就会进行，因为该地受影响的原住民人数很少，仅200至300人，政府可以轻易地赔偿他们。
不过，他表示，目前只知道政府要在那里建一座可供应1400兆瓦（megawatt）水坝，计划费用估计多达马币20亿元至40亿元之外，水坝的大小、涉及的范围多广、对环境影响的评估、赔偿事宜等皆一无所知。

他透露，砂州政府已宣布搁置建造峇南水坝，但将会全力发展巴勒水坝以及林梦水坝（Limbang Dam），因为林梦水坝涉及的范围不大，而且在当地的反对力量也不那么强。
砂州政府之前便宣布要在州内建造12座水坝——姆伦水坝是、乌鲁亚逸（Ulu Air）、美加瓦（Metjawah）、布拉甲（Belaga）、巴勒（Baleh）、柏勒北（Belepeh）、拉瓦斯（Lawas）、土托（Tutoh）、林梦（Limbang）、立挠（Linau）等。
反对运动成功施压政府搁置计划
另外，来自峇南上游的菲利尧（Philip Jau，左下图）是积极从事反对峇南水坝运动，并在他们的努力不懈下，成功促使砂州政府暂时搁置峇南水坝。尽管如此，菲利尧也促请西马的人民协助他们继续反对峇南水坝以及其他即将在州内建造的水坝。
他说，如今峇南的人民已开始感受到当地伐木活动带来的环境影响。他说，在旱季时，峇南河的水位下降，“驾驶快艇就好像盲人走路一样，要用一支竹竿来试探哪里的水位比较高才可往那边驾驶。”
他也表示，单单是伐木活动便可带来这样的环境影响，一旦水坝坚称，可能进一步导致水位下降，缺了水路，“当地的人要如何与外界联系？”
菲利尧表示，政府根本没有合理的理由建造这么多座大型水坝，因为当地的人民根本不需要那么多电力，“他们根本不关心即将受到影响的人民，他们只是想到要赚钱。”
他直指这些工程与首席部长泰益玛目（Taib Mahmud）家族拥有的砂拉越日光（CMS）公司和其子公司有关。
他说：“我们需要你的支持以防止我们的森林、土地遭到破坏。现在砂拉越政府急着要淹掉那些土地。”
计划中的峇南水坝将座落于距离河口306公里的上游，涵盖范围从主干峇南河左边的支系巴打河（Sungai Patah）、卡哈河（Sungai Kahah）到右边的希特河（Sungai Hit）。
主坝高度为165公尺，以一般楼层高度3.5公尺计算，这至少是47层楼的高度；正常满水位为178公尺，水库面积为389平方公里，超过吉隆坡市面积；而集水区面积则有8966平方公里，包括弄山（Long San）这个建有中、小学的上游城镇在内，峇南河中、上游大大小小50几个村落都受影响，必须迁离的人数粗估达到两万多人，淹没在水库里的土地广达 38900公顷，长屋、学校、祖坟一一消失在地图上，主要受影响的原住民族包括肯雅（Kenyah）、加央（Kayan）与本南（Penan），礼茂阿布的弄柏固就是其中一个将被淹没的村落。【点击：水坝大水将淹没居所墓地本南人悲抗先辈再死一次】
建议设小型水力发电器
砂拉越婆罗洲资源研究所（Brimas）的马克（Mark Bujang）也表示，他们是在2009年开始反对峇南水坝的运动，迄今日益受到关注。
菲利尧点出，与其建造大型水坝，其实小型水力发电器更适合，因为这对环境更友善。
目前，姆仑水坝正在兴建中。另一个正在兴建的水坝则是文莪水坝（Bengoh Dam），而梁明勇在今年执导的《文莪上游》（Ulu Bengoh Darom Piin）则是探讨为何不满文莪水坝发展的原住民最终仍投选了国阵人民联合党的候选人耶理苏修（Belek @ Jerip anak Susil）。
文莪水坝的工程，将影响来自Rejoi、Semban Teleg、Paing Bojong和Taba Sait四个村落的比达友族，这些村民将被搬迁到实马当（Semadang）村。在实马当村附近可见一大块土地已遭清理，兴建文莪水坝的重置区。目前，工程仍在打桩的阶段。
纪录片拍摄了梁明勇进入受影响的甘榜Taba Sait、Rejoi等村落，并访问了当地的原住民和长屋领袖。根据纪录片中受访的居民表示，政府只是给予口头承诺，而他们越来越质疑政府的承诺。此外，并非所有居民都理解赔偿和搬迁事宜，他们可以说是在没有获得充足资讯的情况下做出决定。
此外，一些原住民也决定从原本的村落搬离，搬到更高的土地，以避开被水坝掩盖的地点。
居民为何仍投国阵？
纪录片质疑，尽管居民不满兴建水坝事宜，最终仍投选国阵候选人，主要是耶理承诺支付全额的赔偿金给原住民。另一个更重要的问题在于，在野党的力量仍单薄、候选人素质不佳、资源不足问题。例如人民公正党的候选人威利莫因（Willie anak Mongin）在提名后并没有在选区走动会见选民，受访的原住民更直言不认识候选人是谁以及长相，而这一直都是砂拉越公正党的问题。
梁明勇在受询时表示，根据他当时到那里拍摄的经验，两周的竞选期对在野党来说是不足够的，因为村落之间的距离相当远，而且交通不便。
他也表示，自己制作这部纪录片是为了凸显东西马之间以及城乡之间的差异，由于地大人稀、通讯设备不足导致居民无法获得足够的资讯作出知情的选择。
从纪录片访问的居民的口中可以得知，砂州政府的操作模式几乎与巴贡水坝工程一样，首先居民仅获得口头承诺而不是书面承诺，易言之，政府可以不兑现诺言；村民并没有获得足够的资讯，政府的咨询也不足。
因巴贡水坝受到影响的翁米古（Wing Miku）也表示，巴贡水坝已是煮成熟饭的生米。他只是希望其他的原住民不会再面对巴贡居民一样的命运。因此，这些原住民无论如何都需要争取自己的利益。
他们皆认为，为了提升人民对水坝与环境以及原住民生计的醒觉，东西马的人民需要一同合作，特别是资讯比较丰富的西马，应该协助东马的人民将资讯传播出去。同时也可亲身到砂拉越体验原住民的生活情况，或者捐助他们设立小型水力发电机。

Film review: `More objective assessment of rural votes needed'-Malaysiakini

2011-10-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

More reviews are welcome from the growing viewers of the film! Send it to us at: meonet2010@gmail.com

勿只一味归咎买票或幽灵选民
选举改革需考虑东马特殊情况

刘嘉铭
10月5日晚上9点16分(Malaysiakini Chinese section)

尽管净选盟2.0推介“第13届全国大选前落实8项诉求”运动，而政府也成立选举改革国会特别遴选委员会呼应选举改革呼声，但是马来西亚选举观察联盟（MEO-net）观察员黄文强却提醒，选举改革议程不可把东马的地理环境与精神面貌排除在外。

他提醒，选举不公不能只一味归咎买票或幽灵选民，东马内陆地区在“先天”上的与世隔绝，其实也是降低候选人曝光与接触选民机率的因素。

黄文强今日是在槟城宣传其制作的纪录片《水下的乌鲁文莪》（Ulu Bengoh Darom Piin）时，如此表示。陪同者有人民之声槟城支部协调员王泽钦及国民醒觉运动代表安德鲁。

泰国选委会助贴海报

黄文强（左图）表示，尽管位于古晋附近的文莪村居民惨遭逼迁，但他们只认识国阵候选人（即使对方只乘搭直升机造访一次），在野党却只略闻其名不见其貌。

“就算要砍头，他们也依旧投票给国阵，因为根本没有选择。”

“东马在先天条件上的孤立不获重视，纵使各界承认他们是造王者，朝野双方却长期忽略。从纯粹的人文眼光开看，也一样缺乏应有的关怀。”

他也不认为，对于东马的“先天”不足无计可施。他举例，泰国选委会就曾协助张贴每名候选人的海报和宣言在偏僻地区的投票站。

国阵守土未必因贿选

黄文强表示，连任两届的国阵候选人成功在上届砂州选举中，以大约3000多数票保住被视为“黑区”的文莪州议席，令一些人大跌眼镜。

“在电脑前阅读网络新闻的民众其实并不了解当地实况，因为他们所见所闻都只是记者采访获得的材料。但记者都没进入内陆地区。”

“（国阵赢后）可能先入为主说，是因为吃钱。但客观（因素）是什么？”

他解释，文莪村的比达友同族之间都语言不通，须用国语沟通，生活环境则与世隔绝。在无从接触在野党的情况下，一如既往投票给国阵并不出奇。

“总不可能期望他们投选一个素未谋面的候选人吧。”

当然，他不忘与短片中的受访者一样批评，当地的公正党候选人不争气，竞选期间竟身在吉隆坡，没把握机会接触选民拉票。

自嘲制作不如辣死你妈

黄文强是今年5月23日与2名同伴到离古晋市区约45分钟车程的文莪村，拍摄短片及了解文莪水坝的工程建设。结果，他被当地的公共工程局人员截拦，隔天在没有给予理由下被移民厅遣返回西马。

无论如何，《水下的乌鲁文莪》最终顺利杀青，并已在社会传播中心（KOMAS）的自由电影节中播放。接下来，此电影会在本周末假槟城举行的自由电影节中播放。

黄文强表示，西马人应从短片中多了解东马原住民的困境，不是一厢情愿地幻想他们改变。

“这（短片）不像辣死你妈2.0般的大制作，有大明星助阵。我们纯粹耗资6000令吉，而且冒险及自动自发地制作而成，把一向不被重视的一面呈现出来。”

Film review: 'An eye opener' -Malaysiakini

2011-10-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Changing the world, one film at a time

— Hornbill Unleashed @ 12:03 AM

Keruah Usit
The camerawork was admittedly shaky, but a short documentary called ‘Ulu Bengoh Darom Piin‘ (or ‘Upper Bengoh, underwater’ in one of the Bidayuh languages) that premiered at the Freedom Film Fest on Oct 2, was quite an eye-opener.

Joachim Leong, fresh from law school, recently led a team of young urban film-makers to four rural Bidayuh villages up in the mountains of Bengoh, Sarawak, 45 minutes’ drive from the cineplexes and Starbuckses of Kuching.
They were curious: why did many villagers in the area, forced to resettle by the Bengoh dam built last year, return the incumbent, Dr Jerip Susil, in the state election in April, despite losing their land to companies serving the BN?
Why did so many rural voters return BN to power, despite the rousing urban pro-Pakatan crowds?
In trying to explain the rural voters’ support for a BN government, slated for land grabs throughout Sarawak, Leong writes, in the blogLoyarburuk: “The rural-urban divide exists as a mental and physical barrier, with a host of reasons as to why such a barrier does exist.”
The film attempted to see beyond that chasm.
Endless broken promises
The film-makers captured images of the beauty of the mountains and the unique culture of the Bidayuh, as well as the hard grind of the villagers’ daily lives.
The team trekked up to the villages perched up on the high slopes, accessible only on foot.
They learned how only a handful of houses had small solar panels that lit up a single bulb for a few hours, so that some lucky schoolchildren might get to read, before the chorus of cicadas at bedtime.
The villagers told of endless broken promises by the BN state government. The authorities had insisted that the dam was needed to ensure future supplies of clean water to the city folk of Kuching, and had pledged compensation and modern facilities in a resettlement area.
The resettlement scheme remains a wasteland, as seen during filming in August.
The bare planks of the Bengoh villagers’ simple houses in their own relocation area upstream, were built by their own hands. There is no running water or electricity supply.
The film depicted these images as a dramatic counterpoint to the government’s narrative of the dam being a vital part of ‘development’.
There is a subplot, though this was not the focus of the film. The Bengoh dam contract went to a conglomerate, Naim, chaired by Hamed Sepawi (left), first cousin to Taib Mahmud, the Chief Minister. Taib is the minister in charge of natural resources – including dams.
Naim snagged the RM310 million contract without open competition, and “subbed” out the work to Sinohydro, a Chinese construction firm, for RM145 million – less than half of Naim’s windfall.
But there was no ‘win-win’ result for the villagers: they lost their land to the dam-builders. They were given little compensation, and even less say in their future.
One community, Kampung Semban, were astonished to find they were being driven out even though their houses lay above the water level of the dam.
Villagers have said Naim and its partners were simply grabbing land, using the dam as a pretext.
The villagers sued the government two years ago, but the courthouse is far away, and lawsuits take time.
The big picture
‘Ulu Bengoh Darom Piin’ explored the contradictions in the poverty of the area, and the government’s string of broken promises, with the thumping majority won by the BN.
Jerip Susil (right) won 8,093 votes to the PKR’s Willie Mongin’s 4,447. Two other candidates, one from SNAP and another independent, won some 2,000 votes.
Were there lessons to learn? The film gently, but humorously, pointed out that the PKR candidate, Willie Mongin, did not actually set foot in any of the four villages affected by the dam.
When the film-makers asked him why, he gave a series of bizarre answers, providing excuses to do with “strategy”, “time limitations” and “finances”, for not visiting the voters.
Selangor PKR executive councillor R Sivarasa and PKR national legal bureau chief Latheefa Koya were present in the audience, and showed the appropriate embarrassment, as well as concern that viable alternative candidates will have to be offered in future polls.
Another reason explored in the film was a mindset among some villagers that Dr Jerip had pledged to fight for their interests.
Some voters drew a distinction between the likeable person of the individual elected representative and his campaign promises on the one hand, with the BN-linked companies taking their land, on the other.
There are, of course, other reasons for the unexpected margin of the BN victory in April’s election, that the film did not address.
One is the widespread buying and manipulation of votes. Bersih 2.0 and Malaysian Election Observers (MEO-Net, an NGO that works on voter awareness in Sarawak) are striving hard on this front.
Another, more important, reason is that while the voters are kept poor, in order to limit their independence and access to information, the cause is not simply local corruption, but also the continuing economic deprivation of Sabah and Sarawak.
These are two of the poorest states in the federation, despite contributing vast amounts to the national coffers through Petronas.
This impoverishment means large numbers of rural voters remain uneducated. They are kept dependent on handouts and on the propaganda of the mainstream media.
Perhaps it will take more than one good documentary to bridge the ‘rural-urban divide’ that Leong writes of.
But it is a fine step in the right direction.
(‘Ulu Bengoh Darom Piin’ and the Freedom Film Fest is showing all over Malaysia, and I for one urge all readers to see these challenging films on offer. Entrance is free of charge.)

Some Snapshot and Screening Here :-

See Bengoh when it is still dry

KERUAH USIT is a human rights activist - ‘anak Sarawak, bangsa Malaysia’. This weekly column is an effort to provide a voice for marginalised Malaysians. Keruah Usit can be contacted a tkeruah_usit@yahoo.com

Save the last Eagle dance for.....?

2011-09-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Semban's ladies who wear copper rings on their limbs from young perform a unique dance called the Eagle Dance for visitors. But since they will be evicted to make way for the Bengoh dam soon they may dance their last dance-at least in their ancestral home, very soon as well. The other villagers don't have such tradition. It means that when these ladies stop the whole tradition may come to a halt. The eviction does not help. Actually the village itself is 200 meters above the dam's reservoir and at least 2 km away-giving rise to suspicion that this could be just another of the hundreds of land grabs around the state! Worse their houses are said to be converted into tourist homestay props! Come to watch the Bengoh film to find out how ridiculous the whole thing could be!

Kg Semban is the highest of them all-at 395m above sea level!

Ladies with copper rings!

What help do the Bengoh villagers need?

2011-09-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

Candle light dinner-but not for every night?

New Rejoi village-but unlit houses

While there are increasingly more people coming to know the plight of the Bengoh villagers due to the construction of the Bengoh dam there is a need to find out how the public/outsiders can most meaningfully lend them a hand. During the filming process the villagers showed great interests to instal mini-hydro generators for their new houses constructed at higher altitudes to avoid the dam. The crews were not able to document the potential sites for the mini-hydro generators yet-but the enthusiastic villagers told me recently that they are willing to send photos of the potential sites/waterfalls to me at the 1st week of October. So the much spoken about mission to deliver mini-hydro to the interior folks has heated up again. In fact the hope is not just for these 3 affected villagers which had constructed new homes at higher altitudes-but to also extend to all other suitable villages in upper Bengoh.

A very under-sized solar panel is on the left of the picture. High cost may be behind not improving on the size where it matters!

Some warning from the solar supplier-power too high?

Officially there are only 10% of the houses without electricity and light-and thus rely on increasingly expensive fuel to run limited hour generators. We believe there are more because we had seen some half-hearted effort to instal solar panels for these villages but the capacity is seriously lacking. Each house was given only a small panel which can light at most a single light for each house! These houses would be considered as electrified houses under official statistics! A more suitable and low cost solution would be to tap into the many waterfalls around upper Bengoh. The enthusiastic villagers also mentioned that they are willing to carry all the necessary components up their hills-since they are used to doing it, and they are all for their own/kampong's benefits.They also like to learn so that they can help others to instal the same green energy to their neighbours.

Another solar panel-probably mal-functioned?

Cultural show in Kg Semban performed under dim kerosene lamp!

So: all the warm-blooded members of the public-your turn to chip in financially and technically to realise this dream. For the few very fit (and young) folks who like to make a trip there to help instal the generators please contact us ASAP via email: meonet2010@gmail.com. The trip will take probably 3-4 days and require fit bodies since the only transport will be your own feet! But if you can make it to go and come back-the trip will make another film by itself!!!!!

Effect of romantic solar lighting?

For our part we will dedicate the sales of the Bengoh film's DVD to assisting the villagers to instal the mini-hydro generators. Your generous orders are welcome! See homepage for ordering details.

Renown waterfalls to be drowned by the Bengoh dam

2011-09-24T23:48:00.000-07:00

Found my paradise, but soon will lose it!