People have been talking about dams and renewable energy to give us long term incomes but compared with marine wealth, oil and gas that we have, dams are not necessary for Sarawak. We don't need many dams. What we need is to exploit our wealth in the seas.

God is kind to Sarawak. God blessed our land, Sarawak, with perpetual renewable incomes in the forms of marine wealth, oil and gas.

These wealth now are in the seas. It is speculated that there are about 200 potential oil wells from 3rd to 200th nautical miles off the shores of our land but are now taken away from us with a stroke of a pen by federal Parliament.

Within 3rd nautical miles from our shores 60 oil well operated by Petronas took away from us about RM285 million ringgit every day.

In the past two years, Petronas had discovered many oil belts or areas within the 3rd nautical miles off our shores. Chiak bey liau!

Our seas have plenty of fish and other marine life but we are unable to harvest, unless licensed been issued to us by the federal government. All are controlled by the federal government or by Malaya. It is for this reason, Sarawak needs to exit from Malaysia and if Sarawak could exit from Malaysia, all these marine wealth, oil and gas have to be returned to us. Under international law, these are ours and we have a right to take them back.

Those big fishing boats catching fish in our waters, not many are from Sarawak, but, from Malaya and other foreign countries, catching fish "ali baba" style. What a pity!

It is for this reason, Parti Bumi Kenyalang had been been wanting to free Sarawak from the yoke of Malaya so that all Sarawakians can enjoy these God given wealth. With oil wealth alone, instead of being taken away from us, every voting Sarawakians can have at least a few thousand ringgit to enjoy every year.

To get these marine, oil and gas wealth, we need not, unlike building dams for renewable incomes from renewable energy generated from dams need so much money.

We had much headache about Bakun Dam and the many other dams that presently are built in many parts of Sarawak.

Yes, dams may give Sarawak incomes but dams are not cheap to build and not cheap to maintain. There is no guarantee that there will be no mismanagement of funds in this business.

The building of dams destroy the ecosystems and natives suffered much because they have to be resetled, yet, never been properly compensated for the loss of their land and property. They lost their hunting ground and source of income from their land.

Their ancestors' resting place could be destroyed when dams are built.

The study of Bakun dam was made in 1960s before it was built and there were many "scandals" or problems associated with it.

Billions of ringgit been spent on building the Bakun dam and the many dams that we have now, drained much of our money before they were operational.

This is different with the wealth we have in the seas that God gave to us.

What will happen if a dam collapsed? If Bakun dam collapses due to attack by enemies or by earthquake, I think, at least half of our people in the cental region of Sarawak will be drowned and property, livestock, forests, plantations and animals will be destroyed.

We should not discount the possiblity that dams will not one day collapse in Sarawak.

We have seen dams collapsed in many places in the world. Do we need dams and more dams?

Let us take our land back and the best platform that Sarawakians need to support to do this is none other, but, Parti Bumi Kenyalang.

Voon Lee Shan
Parti Bumi Kenyalang
07 May 2021