Ditch plans to revive coal plant in Sabah: NGO

KOTA KINABALU: A local non-governmental organisation has urged the Federal Government to stick to its word and permanently put to rest plans to build a coal-fired power plant in Sabah.

Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP) Executive Director Cynthia Ong said the Malaysian government must not be seen to be flip-flopping over the matter, pointing out that Sabah cannot risk having a polluting source of energy while advocating to the world that the state is a frontrunner in biodiversity and conservation efforts.

She said the international community applauded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak for heeding the call made by civil society and the public who were against the construction of a 300 Megawatt coal-fired plant on Sabah’s east coast.

“The Malaysian government’s commitment as announced by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman on Feb 16, 2011 must be upheld.

“The Chief Minister was at that time quoted as saying that as a responsible government, the priority is to protect the environment for the well-being of the people. LEAP strongly believes that this stand has not changed.

“We are shocked to hear that the Federal government is still considering a coal plant as part of the energy mix for Sabah, this time in Tawau,” Ong said in a statement here today.

Yesterday, Energy, Green Technology and Water Deputy Minister Datuk Mahdzir Khalid revealed that the Federal government is toying with plans to reintroduce the project in order to boost power supply in Sabah.

Mahdzir even placed blame on a leader of an environmental group saying that if the individual, who he did not named, had not protested, Sabah would not be facing power shortage today as the coal plant would have been commissioned in 2010.

Ong said Mahdzir is either not aware or has been fed with the wrong information on a grassroots movement that worked tirelessly with concerned members of the public to convince the government that a coal plant is not in Sabah’s best interests.

She said five non-governmental organisations had formed Green SURF (Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future) in October 2009 to oppose the project, which at that point had been proposed a third time.

LEAP was one of the founding members of Green SURF, along with WWF-Malaysia, Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA), the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Sabah and Partners of Community Organisations (PACOS) Trust.

“We wish to enlighten the Deputy Minister that it was the collective voice of NGOs and the public that led to the cancellation of the project.

“If the Ministry is bent on proceeding with this project, it can expect another round of opposition, not just locally but regionally and internationally,” she said.

During the campaign to scrap the project that lasted for over a year, the public supported Green SURF by coming up with their own initiatives such as designing postcards addressed to the Prime Minister and divers who went under water with banners asking for the project to be cancelled.

Green SURF had also commissioned the University of California in Berkeley Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory to produce an Energy Options Report for Sabah, in making its case.

The report was presented to the Prime Minister and several related ministries and agencies. Green SURF also gave rise to the creation of the Southeast Asia Renewable Energy People’s Assembly (SEAREPA), a network of over 80 groups that are advocating workable renewable energy projects in the region and beyond.

The grouping met for the first time in Sabah late last year, with another meeting planned for next year.

 

 

– BERNAMA