Dam You

Bakun: Decade of Damnation

Remember Empangan Bakun? The very big dam that's supposed to power Sarawak's development? The first time you heard it should be from Kajian Tempatan textbook from Primary 4 or 5 (forgot already). Well for me I've read that book more than a decade ago. 10 years later Bakun is still a project overdue many times and used as the same school textbook reference of what Sarawak can offer, as well as the occasional cause for the displaced natives to be pissed about.

Still pissed. And confused.

Then recently Borneo Post stated that the Federal government pulled out from purchasing the dam for RM8,000,000,000 due to financial crisis (another story). So now the Sarawak state government can move in to buy it for RM6,000,000,000.

RM6bil is okay for this epic functional dam. Oh wait, this is 3 Gorges Dam. Completed earlier than Bakun. (Source)

RM6bil is a lot of cash. It will do good for Sarawak as the mega hydroelectric power will fuel Sarawak's Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) projects. BUT I will side with the political pundits this time.

WHY THE PHUOC DO WE NEED TO SPEND RM6,000,000,000 ON AN UNCONFIRMED-CAN-BE-FINISHED DAM? RM6bil could've been used on finishing many much-needed roads in Sarawak. Shock absorbers ain't cheap dammit!

And let's not forget about how cursed Bakun is. The Coxsakie outbreak that coincided with the dam's relaunch in 1997. The leptospirosis (rat fever, kencing tikus, Mickey's bane) at Bakun as well barely a month ago. And also rumors of black magic and other wrath incurred by the pissed off locals to stop the desecration of their ancestral lands (imagine Avatar, minus the blues).

Flaming online works too I guess...

The money that's apparently spent on the 2,400MW dam is never enough to complete it after a decade. It's like a black hole. No matter how much paper money you throw at the dam the Google images will show the same pictures of it 5-7 years, showing that the contractors do not have built-in cameras on their phones.

Apa ni?

I won't bash much as I'm respecting the month of Ramadhan. The rest of the things about Bakun are common knowledge based on how the government roll. And here's more readings on why you should be worried if you are a taxpayer.

Owh did I mention the government wants to make another 2 new dams? Damn, just think about all those new black holes, more displaced natives and superior government planning for energy supply enough for maybe 1/2 of China (not sure, I'm no Civil Engineer). We need transparent public spending report dammit!