KUCHING: The Sarawak state government has no plan to enact a separate ordinance to deal with resettlement matters, State Minister of Special Functions, Tan Sri Adenan Satem said today.
“This is because the existing legislation can adequately address the various issues pertaining to resettlement,” he said in his winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly sitting, here today.
Adenan said the State Planning Unit was specifically tasked to deal with all matters pertaining to resettlement of people affected by the various development projects.
He said the section was responsible for planning, implementing, managing and monitoring the resettlement projects undertaken by the government.
“The government will review the effectiveness of this section and if deemed necessary (we) will upgrade its status,” he said.
Last week, at the assembly sitting, assemblymen Liwan Lagang (BN-Belaga) and Malcolm Mussen Lamoh (BN-Batang Ai) urged the state government to enact an
ordinance to tackle issues caused by mega projects in the state.
Meanwhile, Adenan said the state government had always taken into account the impacts of any development project including the hydroelectric power dam projects on the environment and local communities.
Since 1994, he said the government had made it mandatory that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must be approved before any land development projects could be implemented to ensure minimal adverse impacts to the environment and the local communities.
He said the state government, since 2009, had also adopted the Social and Environment Impact Assessment (SEIA) as a requirement for all major projects before they were implemented. – Bernama