What's it all about Jibby?

On April 9th 2009, the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water headed by Peter Chin Fah Kui was created with one of its objectives being to: ensure sustainable development and conserve the environment for future generations. The ministry also set-up the Special Committee on Renewable Energy (SCORE) which is committed to promoting all types of renewable sources of energy including palm oil biomass, biogas, municipal waste, solar mini-hydro and wind.

Some eight months later, on December 17th 2009, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen Prime Minister, Najib Razak, said the Malaysian government was committed to reducing CO2 emission by 40 per cent by 2020.

So how is this possible?...

Trepidation as Sabah dirty coal-fired power plant D-day looms - Free Malaysia Today

controversial plant, has finally succumbed to pressure from federal authorities responsible for the country's energy demands.

KOTA KINABALU: Amidst the scorching Sabah heat, dry rivers and raging wildfires, advocates of a greener, cleaner state face up to the burning likelihood that the government's final solution to the state's perennial electricity shortage could be the kiss of death to their efforts to preserve the environment.

The environment impact assessment (EIA) report of the proposed 300MW coal-fired power plant at Felda Tungku in Lahad Datu, is due to be out this month.

The state government, after initially dithering on approving thebah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman rejected the coal power plant in 2008, but rapidly back-pedalled when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that the controversial plant would be sited at Felda Tungku.

Electricity supply in the state comes directly under the federal government through power supplier Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), which in turn is controlled by the country's main power supplier, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).

SESB and TNB have long maintained that coal is the only option as a source of power supply on the east coast.

"Coal is the most economically viable fuel option for the east coast of Sabah, against other alternatives. Abundance supply of coal from nearby Kalimantan… will provide secured supply of coal at competitive price, thus ensuring continuous operation of the plant and optimum cost of supply/tariff," SESB said on its website.

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RUMAH NOR ACTION ALERT

Urgent Appeal for Borneo Forest  Defenders at Rumah Nor Village head in front of his demolished house Background: (From The Borneo Project) On January 19, 2010 bulldozers backed by Sarawak  state government agents demolished 39 houses in  the Iban village of Rumah Nor in Sarawak, Malaysia.   The demolition crew smashed the houses and all  belongings in them, including stored food, leaving  families without shelter in Malaysia’s rainy season.  As dismayed residents confronted the demolition  crew, state Land and Survey Department enforcement  agents threatened to return and destroy remaining homes.    The Borneo Project condemns this unwarranted  and ruthless destruction by state authorities.  Villagers had no warning of the demolition, which state agents ordered despite Rumah Nor’s pending  legal appeal of a local judge’s ruling in favor of a  company that wants the village’s land for  development.   Residents of nearby communities and NGO supporters joined the people of Rumah Nor to form a  “human wall” blockade to confront state demolition  crews.  Malaysian civil society organizations  decried the unannounced destruction of village homes  as heartless, barbaric and illegal.   On January 25, the community obtained a temporary  injunction until February 9, 2010,  blocking resumed  demolition.  On February 9 the village and its lawyers  will present arguments in court to compel the  state government to recognize their customary land rights,  nullify the company’s provisional lease, and compensate  villagers for destruction of their homes and property.   The company, Tatau Land Sendirian Berhad, is a subsidiary of the ASSAR Group, a state-controlled investment holding  corporation. Tatau Land holds a “provisional lease” for the  village’s customary rights land at Sungai Sekabai. It intends  to bulldoze existing homes, farms, forests  and orchards to build a “new township”.    Over the past decade, Rumah Nor has stood at the  forefront of Borneo communities’ struggle to protect  native forests and communal lands against reckless logging  and plantation expansion, and the collusive politicians  and companies who profit from it.  The village’s lawyers  intend to sue the state agencies that issued the provisional  lease, as well as Tatau Land itself, to gain definitive legal  recognition of their customary land rights.     In 2001, a landmark judgment by Sarawak’s High  Court affirmed Rumah Nor’s Native Customary Rights  over their inherited territory. In 2005, an appellate  court overturned part of the 2001 state court ruling,  but did not affect the basic principle of native  communities’ customary land and forest rights.  Village head Nor anak Nyawai, who initiated the  village’s lawsuit, is among those whose homes were  razed on January 19.  Many believe the demolitions and  state officials’ extreme action are a reprisal for the village’s  persistent legal challenges to state  efforts to evict them from  their lands and forests.               Fast-track development plans for the region around  Rumah Nor’s land are linked to recently-unveiled schemes  associated with the “Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy”  (SCORE).   SCORE is characterized by secretly developed plans for  12 major new hydro-electric dams financed by a state corporation  of China, in addition to the Bakun and Murum megadams  already under construction. Accelerated road building would  “open” a 70,000 square kilometer swathe of Borneo to more  logging and oil palm plantations, and heavy industries including  aluminum smelting and palm oil refining.  Some 600,000 people  live in the SCORE region.  Dams, plantations and industrial development associated with SCORE is likely to displace many  thousands including indigenous Dayak communities (Iban, Kayan, Kenyah, and Penan) that occupy much of the rural area, which includes some of the world’s most  biodiverse rainforests.   YOU CAN HELP CLICK HERE TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION! This documentary was made in 2007 and  gives a good background to the issue