Coal plant violates govt’s clean power commitment, says NGO
By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — An environmental group today accused the federal government of violating its commitment to clean energy in pushing through plans to build a coal plant in Sabah.
The Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future (Green SURF) also called Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin “arrogant” and “deaf” for his decision to stick to the controversial proposal.
“Actions taken by the Government in pushing for this coal plant are totally against their own words and policies, and the arrogant attitude of the Minister, Peter Chin, is not acceptable, and in fact, is hard to swallow,” Green SURF representative Wong Tack said in a statement issued today.
“How can the Government even say it’s listening to the people? The Minister must either be totally deaf or protecting some interests, instead of protecting interests of the people.”
The 300-megawatt coal-based power plant is aimed primarily at boosting electricity supply in Sabah.
The eastern coast of Sabah at present gets its 200MW electricity supply capacity from a diesel-based power plant.
At the sitting of the Dewan Negara on Monday, Chin said the coal plant proposed for Sabah would go ahead, saying it was the best option to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
Chin said a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) study would be resubmitted.
In August, the Department of Environment (DOE) rejected the DEIA for the proposed 300MW coal-fired plant in Felda Sahabat because the report did not address many important environmental parameters in the proposed project.
Today, Wong accused the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government of ignoring Sabahans who opposed the construction of the coal plant.
“The Government is not listening to the people of Sabah, who have repeatedly rejected the coal plant from the time it was first proposed for Silam in Lahad Datu, and later in Sandakan,” he said.
