Good Governance and Human Security in Malaysia: Sarawak’s Hydroelectric Conundrum

Abstract

Good governance is an essentially contested concept. In Asian countries, economic efficiency and macro-economic projects have predominantly been pursued with the aim of promoting national, aggregate measurements of development. Hydroelectric power generation projects have played a central role in the national planning of several regional states as part of an attempt to achieve these goals. Even by their own terms of reference, however, hydroelectric power projects have at most a mixed record of success, and are increasingly criticized with regard to their negative impact on the environment, and upon vulnerable groups. The government of Malaysia has embraced the “developmental state” model, and this is best illustrated by governance initiatives and resource exploitation in the East Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah and their respective “development corridors”. Sarawak’s Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) is the most visible sign of Malaysia’s macro-economic hydroelectric development focus, as Sabah’s corridor focuses on trade, investment, and tourism. This article takes a critical perspective towards good governance, emphasizing that it should function in the interests of all society, but in particular the most vulnerable. It therefore addresses the impact of Malaysian hydroelectric development policies on one of the most vulnerable sections of Malaysian society, the indigenous peoples of Sarawak. The findings cast doubt on the validity of continued prioritization of hydroelectric dam construction as a cornerstone of government energy and development policy.

Conflict, Development, and the Environment in Asia

“…Since that time the country has experienced rapid industrialization, significantly as a result of top-down macroeconomic growth policies promoted by the national federal government through a centralized planned economy. The development policies of Malaysia have been geared toward moving the country from an agriculture-based nation to an industrialized nation (Howe and Kamaruddin 2016 ). Yet, despite significant economic growth, Malaysia’s sociopolitical governance still leaves much to be desired, with distributive injustice meaning that the benefits of development have yet to be felt by some of the most vulnerable sections of society, and worse, big development projects causing irreparable harm to minorities as well as to the environment.…”

“…Dammed water is also prone to the proliferation of algae, which, if left unattended, leach oxygen from the water, bringing about a state of hypoxia (oxygen depletion). The Bakun reservoir is particularly prone to this phenomenon as the bottom holds massive quantities of vegetation (Howe and Kamaruddin 2016 ).…”

“…Here, too, the problems of insufficient compensation, lack of opportunities, and the difficulties of transition to a cash economy, including loan repayments, undermined the human security of the relocated groups (Osman 2000 ). If Bakun truly serves as a harbinger of things to come with the other planned Sarawakian dams—or a continuation of trends established with Batang Ai—then other indigenous communities must brace themselves for the sort of environmental damage and loss of human security endured by those already relocated (Howe and Kamarudin 2016 ).…”

Reinterpret 4As framework of energy security from the perspective of human security – an analysis of China’s electric vehicle (EV) development

“…Amongst the existing human security studies of energy transition, most focus has been given to the power sector, stressing the human security impacts brought by the progress made in electricity generation from renewable resources. (Veilleux, 2013;Ziv et al, 2012;Howe & Kamaruddin, 2016) Amongst all major areas involved in the energy transition, changes in our access to transportation and how human security factors are affected are largely overlooked or underestimated in the current debate. 13 Within the scenario of fast market changes, the public's acceptance of the latest development plays a decisive role in the outcome of policy implementation.…”