Stephanie Lee The Star 19 Sep 13;
KOTA KINABALU: The Government must stick to its word and permanently scrap any plan to build a coal-fired power plant in Sabah.
According to Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP) executive director Cynthia Ong, the Malaysian Government must not be seen as flip-flopping over the plant, especially after it gained accolades from the international community for agreeing to scrap the plant two years ago.
She said that Sabah cannot risk having a polluting source of energy while telling the world that the state is a front runner in biodiversity and conservation efforts.
Ong was responding to the Energy, Green Technology and Water Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid’s revelation that the Federal Government was seriously considering the reintroduction of the project in Lahad Datu in order to boost the availability of electricity in Sabah, which is currently suffering a shortfall in supply on the eastern side.
She said five NGOs had formed Green SURF (Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future) in October 2009 to oppose the project, which at that point had been proposed for a third time.
