The Bidayuh are
believed to originate from an area called
Sungkong, a
mountainous region located in what we today know as West Kalimantan. Although recorded
in there as early as
1621, in the mid to
late 19th century, the Bidayuh ventured
into the forests of
Sarawak,including Bau, Padawan, Penrissen
and Serian to
establish new settlements there. "Bidayuh"
means ’inhabitants of
land’.
Four Bidayuh Kampungs,
or villages, are located on the site
of the Bengoh Dam
designed to meet the disputed water needs of
With no water
conservation measures in place, repairs to
existing
infrastructure neither under way nor planned
and hinging on a publicly
suppressed Kuching Water Supply
Study, the proposed
Bengoh Dam catchment will consume an area of 12,700 hectares, the dam itself swallowing
up to 8.5 square
kilometres of flora
and fauna including 199 Bidayuh families,
their heritage farms,
fishing, hunting and burial grounds, their customs, practices, and their Native
Customary Rights.
The Bidayuh Kampungs are
accessible only by foot and yet
some homes have solar
power, generators. The two Upper Bengoh
schools have satellite
dishes and Internet access. Everything, from refrigerators to fuel, building
materials and furniture are carried by porters crossing bamboo bridges,
negotiating steep slopes, frequent storms and mud.
There are 4 Kampungs
affected by Bengoh Dam’s.
1. KAMPUNG TABA SAIT,
54 FAMILIES
2. KAMPUNG REJOI, 41
FAMILIES
3. KAMPUNG SEMBAN
TELEG, 50 FAMILIES
4. KAMPUNG PAIN
BOJONG, 54 FAMILIES
Construction began
well before any one knew what was going on.
The Environment Impact
Assessment had not yet been made public and bull dozers were already clearing
Bidayuh farmlands for a quarry sparking a series of injunctions to prevent
further trespass into what has become another one of the many native customary
land disputes sitting in Sarawaks courts.
The dam’s construction
was awarded to Naim Cendera Lapan, a
company headed by
Sarawak’s Chief Minister’s first cousin, Hamed Sepawi. Naim Chendra Lapan
outsourced the job of building the dam to the Chinese company,Sino Hydro, for
half of the contracted budget. Considered business as usual
amongst the powerful
corporate elite in Sarawak, the links
between them and
government are deep and well protected.
The Bidayuh have none
of the protections afforded Sarawaks
private companies. The
Government has sent its own people to do the work of Naim Cendera Lapan,
enlisting Bidayuh to support resettlement. Whilst some Bidayuh have have signed
blank documents others have been bribed with offers of more land and money to
turn against their community leaders and intimidate their supporters.
Taba Sait, Pain Bojong
and Rejoi will be fully submerged when
the dam is fully
completed in July 2010. In all, 199 families
with a total
population of around 1,300 people will be displaced No amount of compensation
will replace the Bidayuh’s culture and their traditions. Resettlement will lead
the Bidayuh out of their land and into a world many Bidayuh claim they have no
need for.
Everything we
ourselves do and find it and with have that thing free, and then when if we
have some money also we don’t have to spend to buy other things but just to
spend for my children to school only. So those other things we don’t have to
buy.
