Coal plant DEIA rejected

Kota Kinabalu, Aug 19, 2010: The Department of Environment (DOE) has rejected the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) for the controversial proposed 300MW coal-fired power plant at Sinakut, Dent Peninsular.

Sabah Environment Protection Department Director, Yabi Yangkat, said he was informed of the decision by the Director-General of DOE through a faxed message Wednesday afternoon.

A central reason DOE cited for rejecting the DEIA, prepared by a team of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Bakarunding consultants, was many important environmental parameters in respect to the proposed project were not addressed in the DEIA report, according to Yabi.

Stop Kimanis-Bintulu gas siphoning

SAPP maintains that Sabah should keep its natural gas for local industries

KOTA KINABALU, July 25, 2010: The State government should not have agreed to or allowed Petronas to siphon the natural gas from offshore of Sabah all the way to Bintulu, Sarawak in the first place, if it was really serious about developing the local industries, the oil and gas industry in particular, said Luyang State Assemblywoman, Melanie Chia.

For the same token, Petronas should not have even think of such a plan let alone pushing for it despite strong objection from the people of Sabah, besides Federal Cabinet's instruction (to Petronas) to give priority to Sabah if the State required the resources, as what has been noted by Plantation Industries and Commodity Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok in his statement two months ago.

Did Harris saved Kuli's life?

"Every time I am in Sabah, I am reminded of the tragic death of former Chief Minister Donald Fuad Stephens in an air crash in 1976 just as his plane was approaching Kota Kinabalu," said Ku Li as a hush fell over the audience.

"I was also seated in the same plane next to him in Labuan, my seat belt on. Then his deputy, Harris Salleh, insisted that I and two others get off the plane and follow him to Pulau Bangi to inspect a cattle rearing project."

The audience could not understand how the Deputy Chief Minister, in breach of protocol and good manners, could pull out the Finance Minister and Petronas chairman who was seated next to his boss, the Chief Minister.

Besides, the cattle rearing project was not as important as the oil agreement which was supposed to be signed in Labuan but delayed to later in the day in Kota Kinabalu.

PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY FOR SABAH!!?!!?

On 8 November 2008, it was reported that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok had said that the Federal Government in their cabinet meeting agreed that a full-fledged petrochemical industry would be set up in the state using natural gas obtained from Sabah.

Subsequently, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman hailed the decision of the Federal Government to set up a petrochemical industry in the State, saying it augurs well for the Sabah Development Corridor plan.

This has prompted Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Husin to jump on the bandwagon saying it is a privilege the people in Sabah should enjoy given its natural resources.

The interesting thing is that only excess gas will be piped to Bintulu.