Hulu Rajang

For the federal constituency represented in the Dewan Rakyat, see Hulu Rajang (federal constituency).

Hulu Rajang, in the state of Sarawak, is Malaysia’s largest parliamentary constituency. At 31,817 km2 it is about the same size as the state of Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia's largest state.

The constituency also provides 2 state seats to the Sarawak State Assembly. The state seats are Baleh (N50) and Belaga (N51).

The electorate consists of 7,000 Orang Ulu voters as well as the 10,000 Iban. The 2% Malay/Melanau and 1% Chinese complete the 17,696-strong electorate.

Bakun Dam

Bakun Dam.

Located within the constituency is the infamous Bakun Dam,[1] which once completed will be the largest dam in Asia, outside of China.

The construction of the dam was delayed several times due to economic circumstances, in particular the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997.[2] The federal government decided to continue the project, as billions of ringgit had already been spent on it. However, during the early implementation stage, the plan was scaled down in order to reduce cost.

Nevertheless, in January 2007, the Malaysian federal government announced its intention to reactivate the initial plan in its original size to transfer the power generated by the dam to Peninsular Malaysia via a submarine power cable.

The submarine cable will span a distance of 670 kilometres and reach the shore of Peninsular Malaysia at Yong Peng, at the state of Johor, southeastern part of the peninsular.It is expected to be completed the earliest by 2012.Before flowing through the submarine cable, the electricity will flow from Bakun to the western tip of Sarawak via over head electric transmission cables traversing a distance of 700 kilometres.The additional project is expected to cost between RM9 billion and RM10 billions.

Energy generated from the dam is expected to also benefit Sarawak, Sabah, neighbouring Kalimantan in Indonesia and southern Philippines.

The construction of the dam, however, has been accused of uprooting 11,000 Orang Ulu from their traditional homes, clear-cutting hundred of square kilometers of ancient virgin tropical rainforest with consequent losses of hundreds of endangered plants and endangered animals, and forever changing the natural environment of Sarawak.

References

  1. ↑ Map
  2. ↑ Brief description of the project


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