تقاضای انرژی، رشد اقتصادی، و بهره وری انرژی، بازبینی سیاسی انرژی پایدار سد القاء شده Bakun

In embarking on a dynamic course of economic development and industrial modernism, Malaysia sees the need to increase its electricity generation capacity through the development of a mega-dam project—the Bakun dam. Although hydroelectricity generation offers one of the benign options in accommodating the increasing energy consumption per capita in Malaysia, it is argued that the construction of Bakun’s dam which involves a complete and irreversible destruction of 69,640 ha of old forest ecosystem remains a difficult and uncertain endeavour. It is further argued that apart from mega-dam technology, there are also other means to orchestrate a sustainable energy system in Malaysia. These include the implementation of demand and supply initiatives, such as the deployment of energy saving technology or influencing behavioral change towards a sustainable energy consumption pattern.

Malaysia’s profound transformation from an agriculturally based economy in the 1960s into an industrially oriented nation in the 1990s indicates that adequate supply of energy, especially the supply of electricity is critical to sustaining its industrial development momentum. It also reflects that energy consumption per capita will have to grow in the future amidst the chorus of acclaim of its industrial dynamism. This growth of per capita energy consumption has come to be associated with the triumph of mega-dam technology, which is embraced by Malaysia as one of the catalysts for industrial modernization. It is also increasingly recognized that mega-dam technology also serves as one of the strategic means to promote the objectives as contained under the Malaysian National Energy Policy (MNEP). These objectives include: (i) supply objective, which aims to ensure the provision of an adequate, secure, and cost-effective energy supply, (ii) utilization objective, which aims at promoting an efficient and clean utilization of energy consumption patterns and, (iii) environmental objective, which aims to minimize the negative impacts of energy production on the environment. Furthermore the deployment of dam technology is also recognized by Malaysia as one of the crucial means to mitigate its imminent oil and gas depletion problems. It is under this setting that Malaysia undertakes to construct one of the largest dams in the world—the Bakun dam (see Fig. 1 for the geographical location). The dam, which is the largest in Southeast Asia, is 205 m high with an installed capacity of 2400 mega watt (MW), and a lifespan of 50 years. The impoundment of the dam will inundate 69,640 ha of forest ecosystem—an area larger than the size of Singapore. The project is estimated to cost RM9 billion ($1US=RM3.8, RM=Ringgit Malaysia). Mega or large dam may be defined as dam more than 15 m high or dam with a reservoir volume of at least 3 million m3 (see for example, WCD, 2000).However, accepting the premise that the Bakun project is critically important to achieve long-term growth and energy security in Malaysia, there is still a need to explore if it indeed represents a truly sustainable energy policy. Sustainable energy policy is only “truly” sustainable if it is not only consistent with the attainment of the objectives as stated in MNEP, but also compatible with the development of a cohesive and sustainable society.1 This necessarily calls for the need to critically assess the nature and impacts of the Bakun dam-induced energy policy in order to determine if it fulfills its intended objectives as noted above. It also seeks to examine if the Bakun source of energy unfolds itself as a form of renewable and “green energy for the future” as claimed by the Malaysian authority (see EPU, undated). Renewable energy (RE) refers to any source of energy that can be used without depleting its reserves. Moreover, the nature of the analysis also inspires in-depth discussion on the potential of energy demand and supply measures as a means to promote a truly sustainable energy policy in Malaysia, and the establishment of an institution that is necessary to achieve this.

In the course of harnessing a truly sustainable energy policy, the question at issue is no longer the flow of energy per se, but the nature and source of energy flow that is renewable, cost-effective, socially and environmentally sustainable. Although the Bakun energy policy is able to answer to the increasing needs of the Malaysian energy demand scenario, it has failed to fulfill the social, ecological, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Consequently, it cannot be regarded as truly sustainable. Indeed, no “sustainable” energy policy can be considered as viable if it irreversibly destroys the natural environment to such an extent that it is no longer possible for the environment to return to its former ecological balance. The Bakun project certainly represents an obvious case in point. By the same token, energy policy cannot be regarded as sustainable if it results in social disintegration and cultural extinction of the affected population as illustrated by the Bakun project. In other words, hydroelectricity must be harnessed in such a way that it produces less or minimum social and ecological impact on the indigenous population and environment. As analyzed above, it is suggested the Murum project, which is less socially, ecologically and environmentally destructive should be optimized in lieu of Bakun. This move will not only satisfy the three objectives as contained in MNEP but also serves to avert an ever extreme form of cultural extinction of the indigenous communities affected by the dam project. It is also recognized that the implementation of ESDM initiatives is equally important in enhancing a sustainable energy system. The huge energy saving arising from this strategic measure reduces the need for new energy capacity, which in turn dispenses the need for the construction of a mega dam which is socially and environmentally crisis-prone. Furthermore, the deployment of EE technologies and the exploitation of the huge biomass energy resources also render the construction of mega dam irrelevant. It also provides immense savings in terms of foreign exchange from fossil fuel imports and helps to improve environment by reducing green house gas emission. Finally, it must be pointed out that an effective deployment of ESDM’s measures depends on the administrative capabilities of the national innovation system which has an immense role to play in influencing the pattern of energy consumption, and the adoption of advanced energy-efficiency or energy generation technology in the Malaysian economy.