Students benefit from Bakun Trust Fund ?

Peter Sibon, Borneo Post

Some 2,100 students from Belaga district have benefited from the Bakun Trust Fund in the last 12 years, disclosed Minister of Land Development Dato Sri Dr James Masing.

Of those recipients, 1,200 have completed their diplomas and degrees.

“We have only spent about RM3 million in the last 12 years for the education of students from Belaga district,” Masing told The Borneo Post after receiving an additional RM5 million allocation from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a meet-the-people-session at Rumah Belor, Sg Asap, here on Saturday.

Masing said the balance from the previous allocation of RM10 million was RM7 million.

“With the additional RM5 million allocation, we now have RM12 million in our account. We have been able to maintain our cost low due to our prudent spending,” he said.

Masing, who is also chairman of the Bakun Special Resettlement Committee, revealed that Bakun Trust Fund was set up for the education of the people from Belaga District.

It was set up 12 years after the Bakun Hydroelectricity Dam project took off.

The Baleh assemblyman thanked the prime minister for the fulfillment of most of the government’s promises to the people affected by the mega project.

“Now it is for us to implement all these projects as promised by the federal government to those affected living in Sg Asap and Belaga district,” Masing said.

In all, the prime minister announced a total allocation of almost RM180 million for the people of Sg Asap and Bakun District.

Among the allocations Najib announced during his visit to Belaga and Sg Asap were a RM62 million Bakun-Belaga Road, a new Belaga health clinic costing RM46 million, RM22 million for the connection of electricity to the main grid for 1,500 families in Sg Asap, the cancellation of remaining housing loans totalling RM41 million, RM5 million for Bakun Trust Fund, RM1.14 million for Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry to train Ibans, Bidayuhs and Orang Ulus in entrepreneurship skill; RM900,000 for resthouses for Penans at Sg Ulun and RM72,900 for primary and secondary students from Sg Asap.

Najib had also promised to assist the people of Sg Asap to get additional land to improve their livelihood through large scale agriculture development, since each family had only been allocated three acres of land.

When Bakun dam was built, some 10,000 people from 1,500 families, mostly Kayans and Kenyahs were displaced and resettled at Sg Asap.