"Until when must we wait to move to the new settlement? If continuing on with the delay how are we going to go on with our life and sending our children to school? "Some 204 families from four Bidayuh villages affected by the RM310 million Bengoh Dam - Kampung Taba Sait, Kampung Rejoi, Kampung Pain/Bojong and Kampung Semban – were complaint that they could no longer earning good income from the harvest of their cash crops like pepper and cocoa.
Making life even worst for them, now they could no longer carry out hill paddy cultivation like they used to do in the past.
As a result they now have to pock-out of their pockets to buy rice, something which they never do in the past as they have stock of paddy.
“We adhered to the authority instruction not to continue with farming activities on our NCR land fearing that it will pollute the water reservoir,” said chairman of the Liaisons Committee on the resettlement of residents affected by the Bengoh am, Itodio Peu Rayu (pic).
Peu did not deny that some of the villagers still continue with hull paddy cultivation but are doing in a very small scale.
He said due to the implementation of the Bengoh Dam, 90 percent of the crops such as rubber, cocoa, pepper and fruit trees owns by the residents of Kampung Taba Sait were destroyed.
"Thus, the delay or postponement of moving the affected residents to the new settlement have caused these people losing their income because other than not getting any harvest from their cash crops which was destroyed to give way to the dam they were also forced to restrict their farming activities," said Peu.
According to Peu, besides paying compensation for the submerged crops and fruit trees the compensation for other properties such as their house, land and crops which are not flooded by the dam water are still unpaid.
Peu said, due to the delay in moving the affected residents to the new settlement the government should pay monthly financial assistance to the affected residents.
"We were promised payment of disturbance allowances but so far no such payment has been made to us," he added.
A total of 204 families were supposed to move to the new settlement last year but was delayed due to housing problem.
The villages demanded that they be given free housing after they rejected the offer by Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB) to build the house for them for RM89,000 each unit.
Peu explained that they rejected SPNB’s offer because they did not want to commit to bank loan as it will only give them more problems.
“Since we were forced to move from our village it just fair that the government provide us with free housing at the new settlement area,” he added.
Meanwhile another villager urged Mambong Member of Parliament, who is also Deputy Minister of Tourism Datuk Dr James Dawos to fulfil his promises to help them to get the free houses.
Dawos meanwhile had urged the affected villages to be patience, saying that he had discussed their plight to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Mohamad dan Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
He said the allocation for the housing project has already being approved but has yet to be released, adding that Shafie wanted to make a visit to the new settlement first to evaluate the cost of the housing project before releasing the fund.
Dawos however said he was unsure when will the affected villagers going to be moved to the new settlement, thus zeroing the chance of them moving out this year.
Dawos during the Sarawak General Election campaign has said that he will discuss with the Chief Minister of Sarawak Tan Sri Abdul Taib and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak the requests of the affected residents.
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