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Daily Express 24th April 2009

KOTA KINABALU: Sipitang Assemblyman Haji Ahmad Bujang Strongly objected to the commissioning of a coal-fired power plant in the district as it can be hazardous to human health and the environment.

     He said the emission of the smoke from the plant would create environment impact not only in Sipitang but also in its surrounding areas.

     According to him, the impact would be disastrous as the plant could produce millions of tonnes of CO2 emission and pose negative effect on the fertility of agriculture in the district.

     Ahmad was commenting on the setting up of a 40MW Coal-Fired Power Plant at Sabah Forest Industry (SFI), which was approved by the Department of Environment (DOE) without consulting first the state Government and other related non-government organisations (NGOs).

     He pointed out that there was no necessity for the coal-fired power plant and they should strive to look for other alternatives that would be more environmentally friendly and cost effective such as a hydropower plant similar to that in Pangi, Tenom.

     He concurred with the statement made by State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun, that the DOE should not have given permission to SFI commission the coal-fired power plant without first obtaining views as well as approval from the State Government.

     He reiterated that a coal-fired power plant was a sensitive issue and the DOE should also be more sensitive, especially when its impact could cause deterioration to the environment in Sipitang.

     "I would like to appeal to the authority concerned to reconsider the feeling and grouses of the people of Sipitang and to decide the best for the environment and people," Ahmad said.

     He also appealed to the State Government to intervene and seek clarification over the setting up of coal-fired power plant at SFI.

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East Coast load shedding done on purpose: Jimmy

Published on: Tuesday, April 21, 2009

SRI Tanjung Assemblyman Jimmy Wong claimed frequent power cuts due to load shedding in the East Coast were deliberate and meant "to punish the people there for objecting to the coal-fired power plant".

"I want to talk about the frequent electricity disruptions perhaps not only in Tawau but throughout the East Coast. I want to ask the Infrastructure Development Minister why this only happens in our place," he said.

"I was informed that the power shedding is done purposely to teach the people from Sandakan up to Tawau for objecting to the coal-fired power plant," he claimed.

"Is this true? If not why is the power supply in KK not like that?," he asked.

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=64393

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Ever wonder why are we, Sandakan citizen fighting so hard against the Coal Fired Power Plant? Take some time to read the Powerpoint slides/presentation to understand further.

Also, the Coal Fired Power Plant can be replaced with other alternatives eg: Solar and Wind Energy instead of coal that can destroy the nature of Sandakan!

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Coal-fired plant: Sabah gov’t listens to cries of protest

Tony Thien | Feb 19, 09 4:33pm

Barisan Nasional ex-component party, the Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp), today welcomed assurances by the state government that the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Seguntor, Sandakan, has not commenced.

Sapp also reiterated its call to the state government to consider wider utilisation of natural gas for power generation in the state.

The party’s secretary-general, Richard Yong, said in a statement to Malaysiakini today that public protests have obviously caught the attention of state government leaders.

"We are pleased that the state government has bowed to public pressure on coal-fired power generation. We are also pleased that there is no commitment by Sabah to allow TNB to build the plant in Seguntor.

"We stand by our belief that if a coal-fired power plant was originally not good for Lahad Datu, it is obviously also not good for the people of Sandakan, or anywhere in Sabah," Yong said in response to Deputy Chief Minister Raymond Tan who yesterday said the state government has not committed itself to allowing Tenaga Nasional Berhad to proceed with the power plant.

Groups that opposed the power plant gathered at the Seguntor site last Friday claiming that earth works had begun on the site, and accused the state government of concealing the truth. Sapp president and former chief minister Yong Teck Lee was among the protestors.

Speaking to the media after the state cabinet meeting yesterday, Tan said it was wrong to accuse the state government of approving the construction of the plant as it had not made any commitment to TNB.

‘PM must live up to his promise’

Meanwhile, Yong today reiterated his call for the state government to consider cleaner alternatives in power-generation such as natural gas, and to seriously consider its decision to allow the piping of natural gas from Sabah to Bintulu in Sarawak.

"The prime minister promised the Sabah people that the gas pipeline project was cancelled. But we understand that it is going ahead as planned, except now Petronas is talking about a petrochemical complex at Kimanis and the construction of a gas-fired power plant.

"We are asking the prime minister to own up to his promises to stop the pipeline construction. At the same time, why can’t we consider building a gas-powered generation plant in Seguntor, instead of one using coal?"

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/98671

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Greenies query go-ahead for coal plant

Joe Fernandez | Apr 7, 09 1:31pm

Green activists in Sabah are seeing red following the public admission by the Department of Environment (DOE) on April 1 that it has approved a 40MW coal-fired plant in Sipitang.

This is for the Indian-owned SFI (Sabah Forest Industries), initially a state-owned enterprise which was subsequently privatised to the Lion Group.
“This (approval) has clearly been done without any public discussion with stakeholders,” fumed Sabah Environmental Protection Association (Sepa) president Wong Tack.
He disputed the DOE claim that there was NGO participation by way of the Environmental Action Committee (EAC), saying: “We have been told by the EAC secretariat that it was not involved in the EIA for the plant.”
The EAC, it was pointed out, is not a NGO  but an informal forum for the state Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment and environmental NGOs to resolve related issues. It began as a joint initiative of the state Environment Ministry and Sepa.
Sepa urged the DOE to come clean on the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study and Detailed EIA (DEIA) and to reveal the names of the consultants who prepared the reports, as well as how many of them are Sabahans.
It expressed fear that the EIA and the DEIA may be biased, given remarks attributed to Sabah Federal Department of Environment director-general Abdul Razak Abdul Manap in the local Chinese media.
He was quoted as saying that “the review committee set up by the DOE, the State Economic Planning Department, the federal Economic Planning Unit, the Forestry Department and the EAC had come to a decision based on scientific evidence”.
The DOE, according to the reports, “has made a decision to approve the EIA report for the construction of a coal-fired power plant and extension plan by the Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd” but the final decision will be made by the state government.
Wong also expressed shock over a related statement by Abdul Razak that the SFI has in fact been burning coal since 2007 ostensibly using “clean coal technology”.
Abdul Razak reportedly told the media: “Coal burning is no big deal since the SFI has already been doing it (since 2007). Coal is not evil.”
Wong warned, however, that “there’s no such thing as clean coal technology at the moment or in the next 20 years, by which time all the damage would have been done to the environment”.
“Sepa would like to know who authorised the import and burning of coal in Sabah? Was any EIA done and who is monitoring the air quality in the SFI area?” he asked.
“It is grossly unfair to the people of Sabah, particularly Sipitang if there has been no monitoring of the burning of coal. It is even more shocking to learn that the state government has not been consulted on such an important issue.”
Wong said DOE should reveal when the DEIA for coal burning was conducted by SFI and which department issued the licence to import and burn coal, since there are no public records of any such licences being issued.
He also questioned if proper equipment is being used, where the toxic ash is being dumped and what emissions controls have been set up.
“All these should be in the monthly monitoring reports for 2007 and 2008,” he added.

Opposition to plant
Sepa is leading opposition against SFI, now in the hands of India’s Ballarpur Industries Ltd, against embarking on any of its ambitious expansion plans “until it has fixed the chronic pollution in Brunei Bay” which is shared by Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei.
This follows the completion of a DEIA by Chemsain Konsultant Sdn Bhd for SFI’s proposed pulp and paper mill expansion at the company’s complex in the Sipitang district border neighbouring Sarawak.
The Chemsain Study notes that the proposed pulp and paper mill and its associated ancillary facilities including a coal-fired power plant and onsite secure landfill are categorised as proscribed activities under the Schedule Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 1987, under Section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act 1974
Sepa’s stand on the SFI coal-fired power plant has won the backing of the Sandakan Anti Coal-fired Power Plant Action Committee.
“It is well known that the by-products of coal burning are hazardous and harmful to human beings, animals and plants,” said the committee in a statement condemning the proposed SFI coal-fired power plant in Sipitang.
The committee is fighting a proposal by Tenaga Nasional Bhd and its majority-owned subsidiary Sabah Electricity Board Sdn Bhd to build a 300MW coal-fired power plant at the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in Seguntor, Sandakan, not far from the world-famous Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary.

The committee instead wants a gas-fired plant to be set up in the east coast to meet the growing energy needs.
The state government is awaiting a EIA and DEIA report on the proposed Seguntor coal-fired power plant before making a decision.
State Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment Masidi Manjun said the state government accepts that any DEIA on industrial matters falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
However, Sabah has a strict environmental policy to protect the tourism industry and it is only proper that the DOE should consult the state government before announcing any approval, he said.
“Under normal procedures, any such proposal should be tabled at the state cabinet meeting for approval before any final decision is announced,” said Masidi.
Sabah and Sarawak alone, according to the Mineral and Geosciences Department, has an estimated 300 million tones coal reserves worth over RM150 billion. The country’s total coal reserves have been estimated at 1.72 billion tonnes.
Still, Malaysia imports most of its coal from China, Indonesia and Australia to support, among others, local power generation, cement, iron and steel plants. By 2010, Malaysia’s annual demand for coal is estimated to reach 19 million tonnes.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/101860

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