Sarawak state bans gambling

Sarawak state bans gambling

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's eastern Sarawak state has
banned all forms of gambling in a district to protect landowners
expected to become "instant millionaires" thanks to the Bakun dam
project, news reports said yesterday.

Some 9,500 villagers from 1,600 villages affected in a dam
project would receive compensation of 300 million ringgit
(US$115.4 million) from developer Bakun Hydro-Electric Corp. by
the end of the year.

Sarawak state tourism minister and Bakun resettlement
committee chairman James Masing said the ban on gambling,
especially cock-fighting, was aimed at preventing people in the
Belaga district from throwing away their money.

The government had asked local trust funds to be stationed in
Belaga when the compensation is paid out to help the people
invest them properly, Masing said.

"We want to make sure that they make use of their compensation
money wisely," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times
newspaper.

The initial payment of 30 percent, or 90 million ringgit, will
be made this month, and the remainder in stages until December.
Masing cited an example in the 1970s when a large number of
villagers in another local district became instant millionaires
under a resettlement scheme to make way for a dam construction.

The lack of proper guidance from the government and the
people's failure to invest their new-found wealth wisely, led
them to eventually lose their money and return to poverty, he
added.

The $5.44-billion project, which has triggered protests from
environmental and other groups, will flood an area the size of
Singapore when it is completed.

The dam is due to begin commercial operation in 2003 with
production capacity eventually expected to reach 2,400 megawatts.
Ekran Bhd., which holds 32 percent equity in Bakun Hydro-
Electric, had recently revealed that the project was facing a
funding problem involving a contract signed with Swedish engineer
Asea Brown Boveri AG (ABB).

Ekran is currently seeking to amend the clause in the contract
to ensure that any cost overruns are directly borne by the
consortium made up of ABB and Companhia Brasileira de Projectos e
Obras of Brazil.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had said the government may
intervene in the dam project if Ekran failed to resolve its row
with the ABB consortium.