The development of heavy industries in Sarawak Corridor ofRenewable Energy or SCORE actually brings Sarawakto become nothing less than a developed State in nature. Generally, the Stateis embarking on the era of massive industrial development, with SCORE as theshowpiece, which will be introducing hi-tech industrial program. The State willbe engaged in food production using biotechnology and the generation of sufficientenergy at reasonable costs to cater for energy intensive industries.
Admittedly, thedevelopment of hydro dams to generate electricity requires huge investments. Itentails construction of roads, numerous bridges, ports and airports and otherinfrastructural facilities. Works to construct roads to each hydro dam sites inthe interior parts of Kapit, Ulu Baram or Ulu Limbang have to cut across hillsor mountains, deep ravines and rivers; the construction of roads alone requireshuge investments.
Understandably, theresponse from world industry players has been very positive. More big firms, which will use huge amount ofenergy for their plants or factories, have expressed their interests to set upindustries in Sarawak. That means Sarawakhas to develop more hydro dams to generate electricity that can be charged atreasonable costs to consumers. It has already embarked on a series of programsto generate more than 20,000 megawatts of electricity by the year 2030.
Basically, Sarawak has to deal with the world, which is exacting inits judgment. It expects the State to conform to many standards andrequirements. Some of the changes orvalues are advocated by groups of people ranging from very conservative people,who say the world today is the mixture of stability and progress while someradical groups see the world as opportunities to transform it into the idea ofUtopia. This by itself already posesquite a lot of challenges and even conflicts all over the world. The people who suffer the most are those indeveloping countries like ours.
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| View of Samalaju Industrial Park |
Unavoidably, Sarawak has to conform to the standards which have beenevolved by developed countries over at least 200 years starting from theindustrial revolution. Generally, developing countries like ours are expectedto work out the transformation in lesser time than developed nations. Therefore, to apply some of the so-calledvalues or benchmarks in the local situation or in national setting can bring alot of challenges or even controversies to us.
For example, thehigh polluting values being determined by developed nations whether in the areaof environment, human right, freedom and democracy, climate change can actuallyimpede the development of developing countries. Besides, they do not spell outhow the objectives can be achieved within the limitations of the localsituation.
Agreeably, commonefforts to slow down degradation of the environment and the impact of climatechange are sound ideas with very valuable aims but developing countries are yetto be told how they can be achieved within their own constraints orlimitations.
Therefore, the jobsof the both the public and private sectors, as part of changes, are to make thetransformation more practical and adaptation to changes, successful. They mayconsider amending some of the exacting demands that have not been surged bypractical experience worldwide.
Needless to say Sarawak must follow the economics system that has beendeveloped by developed countries for a long time since World War Two.Admittedly, the system has benefitted the State too. However, it mustanticipate that future changes will escalate; they will not change in a steadymanner.
The third componentof SCORE is the development of eco-tourism, which will be easier to developwith the construction of all-season roads to hydro dams sites deep in theinteriors of Kapit, Baram and Ulu Limbang towards the year 2020 andbeyond.
The development ofinfrastructure for eco-tourism will also involve the development of the Penans,who still have about 500 of them leading their traditional nomadic way of lifeand roaming over a wide region of Ulu Baram and Ulu Limbang. Unavoidably, thedevelopment of the Penans, to ensure that they will not be bypassed in the newphase of development, will touch on the big human question that must be handledin a very sophisticated way; there will be lots of “advices” from both insideand outside the country.
Basically, Sarawak is in the stage of development that it has to plungeinto the world context of development. It cannot be isolated any more.Admittedly, it will be a big challenge, which Sarawakmust see as an opportunity to move further upward in the migration from mediumto the high income economy towards the year 2020 and beyond. It must anticipatecomplex problems that will emerge from time to time because of continuouschanges in the world.
But for Sarawak to be in the global economy, it cannot be donewithout the civil service being able to understand global economicactivities. Therefore, the civil serviceas the precursor of any development must be knowledgeable of suchactivities. Besides, the members must beable to look at NGOs with different eyes and choose the good ones that arerelevant to development as allies.
Ultimately, themembers must have the ability to develop independent assessment of standardsthat are relevant to the overall development or environmental policies. Sarawak mustlearn from experiences of some countries in getting along with all kinds ofmovements.
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| Tokuyama Plant in Samalaju |
Obviously, the newchallenges of development require the Civil Service to do much more than thetraditional functions to look after the welfare, peace and unity of the peoplein the country. The members, who used tobe bound within the old context, must do the jobs of the new Sarawak, thetechnologically entrenched Sarawak from nowonward.
Besides, the civilservice must be able to come up with the standards that are practical to thelocal situation but compatible with those of the world. Obviously, they mustdedicate themselves to the advancement not only of the country but the world inadvent of climate change. All of us havethe responsibility to save the world because climate change could drowneverybody; nobody wants that kind of picture.
The Chief Minister,Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, in his recent speech during a dialogue withheads of departments says people in the public and private sector must have thenerve in dealing with the world because it is the only way to get theirattention and respect. The developed countries own about 50% of the worldwealth, which they can use to wield their power on developing countries.
Besides, they canuse NGOs movements to set up tend or create new values that can be used aspressures for developing countries to follow. Hence, developing countries like ours must have nerve to stand up tothem. Otherwise, they will do allsorts of things against us; demonstrations will increasingly become powerfultools against us.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taibsays activities of foreign NGOs in exerting pressures on governments ofdeveloping countries can make them appear less powerful especially if the society is not united or having no cohesion in it.Worse, if it does not have the process of interchange of views. As aconsequence, the people become isolated and susceptible to negative influencesof unfriendly foreign NGOs.
He saysconscientious efforts must be made to reinforce the consciousness of people,comprising of diverse ethnic and religious groups about the need to preservethe Independenceand sovereignty of the country in view of concerted efforts by developednations to enforce their high polluting values on developing countries likeours.
Regrettably, thepeople tend to take many things for granted. They tend to criticize everything to such an extent that oppositionmovements appear to be more popularthan genuine efforts to bring progress and development to the people andcountry. These are the challenges confronting the society today; nobody canchange the situation overnight.
Obviously, there isa need to remind the people that there is a need to preserve our unity andstability in the common pursuit for greater progress and prosperity. They mustalso understand that the stability of the country and pursuit for greaterfreedom by the people do not come at the same time; sometimes they go in theopposite directions.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taibsays Europe today has troublesome groups ofpeople, not in terms individual nations but the governments that do not havewell informed set-ups about other countries, developing countries inparticular. For example in geo-political questions how do they get theirinformation? Or where do they get theirfacts to assess local situations?
Besides, how do theyaccess support or opposition to any issues, of a certain country? Obviously, in the case of the environment,they get their feedback from NGOs, some may be friendly and others, veryunfriendly to developing countries. Dothey have the distinction between friendly and unfriendly NGOs?
benuasains
*Source:
http://google.com.my
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