http://www.mysarawak.org/2009/07/18/funding-of-historical-sites-proposed-for-10mp.html
Funding of historical sites proposed for 10MP
Posted on 18 July 2009.
Sarawak Museum wants sites in Meligan, Kelabit and Bario highlands to be conserved, developed for posterity
KUCHING: Sarawak Museum is hoping to get funding from the federal government to preserve, conserve and develop historical sites in the Meligan, Kelabit and Bario highlands.
Its director Gilbert Ipoi Datan said the museum, through the Ministry of Urban Development and Tourism, had submitted a proposal for the project to be included in the Tenth Malaysia Plan.
“Hopefully, and God willing, we can get some federal funds so that the historical sites can be visited not only by the Kelabit and Lun Bawang people but also other ethnic groups and tourists,” he said.
Ipoi said with the funding, the museum would be able to properly identify the sites and put up signs to explain their significance and ask for cooperation from the people to help look after them.
“Also included in the proposed project are the building of some sort of protective sheds and fencing, rest stops and track links in between the historical sites,” he said when met during a dinner in a restaurant here Thursday.
The dinner was jointly hosted by Lun Bawang Association Kuching Branch and Rurum Kelabit Sarawak Kuching Branch in appreciation of and celebration of his appointment as the museum director and the appointment of Datu Ose Murang as permanent secretary to the Ministry of Urban Development and Tourism.
Ipoi, who is the first Lun Bawang to head the State Museum, said an information centre would also be set up either in Bario or Ba Kelalan.
“With the cooperation of Sarah Hitchner (a student from the University of Georgia, United States doing a PhD degree in ecological anthropology) and the Forest Department, we have more or less identified and documented more than 250 sites and with the funds from the federal government, we can preserve and develop them,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, Ipoi thanked Ose, former state minister Datuk Sri Balan Seling and others for their continuous support and guidance.
He also welcomed constructive criticisms
and suggestions from the public regarding the activities carried out by the museum.
On his part, Ose expressed his and Ipoi’s gratitude to the state government for entrusting them with the big responsibilities.
The former Miri Resident also thanked everybody including mentors Gerald Lee for the academic guidance and Balan for his political guidance, encouragement and support through the years.
“We will continue to work closely with the Kelabits and Lun Bawangs on issues that are important to them,” he said.
Rurum Kelabit Sarawak president Gerawat Gala and Lun Bawang Association Kuching branch vice-chairman Petrus Asai were among those present at the dinner.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
High price of cooking oil confuses Bario villagers
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/11/nation/4290529&sec=nation
Saturday July 11, 2009
High price of cooking oil confuses Bario villagers
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: The price of cooking oil in the interior highlands of Bario in northern Sarawak has skyrocketed to almost RM15 per kg, compared to between RM6 and RM6.50 in urban areas here.
It was sold at about RM8 to RM10 per kg in Bario last year.
Rural folk in the highland regions, who are mostly living below the poverty line, find it hard to grasp the situation.
The Star met yesterday with a group of Penans from Pa’tih and Long Selaan – remote villages in the Bario highlands – who are struggling with the high costs of consumer products.
Housewife Rose Melai, who came to Miri to seek medical help for her daughter, said: “My husband is a padi planter. I have no job. We have four school-going children.
“Our family is already paying a lot for diesel fuel (RM8 per litre in Bario) just to operate our generators.”
Now, she has to fork out even more just to buy cooking oil every month.
“In some of our settlements, traders sell one kg of cooking oil at RM12. In places upstream of Pa’tih, the price can be RM15 per kg.”
She questioned why the prices always went up “all the time” in Bario.
“I heard from the people living in Miri that the Government had not announced any increase in cooking oil price. Why did it go up in Bario?” she asked.
Pa’tih is located two days by foot from Bario Village; Bario is 480km from Miri city.
Pangai Lusang, a Penan farmer from Long Selaan, said even sugar which was priced at RM5 per kg was costly.
“Businessmen always say the high prices are due to high transportation costs. But from what I know, the Government had not increased the price of diesel (since last year),” he said.
An enforcement officer from the Miri Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Department, when contacted, said the transportation arrangements to send goods into the interior from urban cities and Sarawak towns was not under the ministry’s jurisdiction.
“It is the Resident’s Office and the respective wakil rakyat who are handling the issue concerning transportation.
“They are supposed to appoint transporters who can give reasonable charges.”
He said the authorities were supposed to subsidise transportation costs so that the prices of goods sent to the interior would be on par with those sold in urban areas.
“However, up to now, these transportation issues have not been sorted out as yet,” he said.
Saturday July 11, 2009
High price of cooking oil confuses Bario villagers
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: The price of cooking oil in the interior highlands of Bario in northern Sarawak has skyrocketed to almost RM15 per kg, compared to between RM6 and RM6.50 in urban areas here.
It was sold at about RM8 to RM10 per kg in Bario last year.
Rural folk in the highland regions, who are mostly living below the poverty line, find it hard to grasp the situation.
The Star met yesterday with a group of Penans from Pa’tih and Long Selaan – remote villages in the Bario highlands – who are struggling with the high costs of consumer products.
Housewife Rose Melai, who came to Miri to seek medical help for her daughter, said: “My husband is a padi planter. I have no job. We have four school-going children.
“Our family is already paying a lot for diesel fuel (RM8 per litre in Bario) just to operate our generators.”
Now, she has to fork out even more just to buy cooking oil every month.
“In some of our settlements, traders sell one kg of cooking oil at RM12. In places upstream of Pa’tih, the price can be RM15 per kg.”
She questioned why the prices always went up “all the time” in Bario.
“I heard from the people living in Miri that the Government had not announced any increase in cooking oil price. Why did it go up in Bario?” she asked.
Pa’tih is located two days by foot from Bario Village; Bario is 480km from Miri city.
Pangai Lusang, a Penan farmer from Long Selaan, said even sugar which was priced at RM5 per kg was costly.
“Businessmen always say the high prices are due to high transportation costs. But from what I know, the Government had not increased the price of diesel (since last year),” he said.
An enforcement officer from the Miri Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Department, when contacted, said the transportation arrangements to send goods into the interior from urban cities and Sarawak towns was not under the ministry’s jurisdiction.
“It is the Resident’s Office and the respective wakil rakyat who are handling the issue concerning transportation.
“They are supposed to appoint transporters who can give reasonable charges.”
He said the authorities were supposed to subsidise transportation costs so that the prices of goods sent to the interior would be on par with those sold in urban areas.
“However, up to now, these transportation issues have not been sorted out as yet,” he said.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
E-Bario for more Sarawak outposts
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/8/nation/4272153&sec=nation
Wednesday July 8, 2009
E-Bario for more Sarawak outposts
KUCHING: The successful e-Bario project in the Kelabit Highlands of northern Sarawak will be implemented in four other remote settlements in Sabah and Sarawak.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) deputy vice-chancellor (research and information) Prof Peter Songan said the e-Bario model would be used in Ba’kelalan and Long Lamai in Sarawak, Buayan near Penam pang and a yet to be identified settlement in Tawau district in Sabah.
“We have done the groundwork,” he told reporters after the opening of the sixth international conference on information technology in Asia at the Kuching Hilton yesterday.
Prof Songan said Unimas had worked with Universiti Malaysia Sabah and a non-governmental organisation for the projects in Sabah.
The four projects are funded by a RM4mil grant from the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.
Prof Songan said the projects would be implemented through regular dialogues with the villagers and based on their needs. Training the villagers in ICT would also be carried out.
Prof Songan said Unimas’ e-Bario project, which connects the Kelabit Highlands to the world through an information and communication telecentre, has benefited about 5,000 villagers, including students.
The project, which was implemented in 2000, has won numerous international IT awards.
At present, the people of Bario are able to independently maintain the telecentre and related equipment.
Prof Songan said Unimas was now working to upgrade e-Bario to a pilot model broadband network site for rural communities.
Wednesday July 8, 2009
E-Bario for more Sarawak outposts
KUCHING: The successful e-Bario project in the Kelabit Highlands of northern Sarawak will be implemented in four other remote settlements in Sabah and Sarawak.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) deputy vice-chancellor (research and information) Prof Peter Songan said the e-Bario model would be used in Ba’kelalan and Long Lamai in Sarawak, Buayan near Penam pang and a yet to be identified settlement in Tawau district in Sabah.
“We have done the groundwork,” he told reporters after the opening of the sixth international conference on information technology in Asia at the Kuching Hilton yesterday.
Prof Songan said Unimas had worked with Universiti Malaysia Sabah and a non-governmental organisation for the projects in Sabah.
The four projects are funded by a RM4mil grant from the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.
Prof Songan said the projects would be implemented through regular dialogues with the villagers and based on their needs. Training the villagers in ICT would also be carried out.
Prof Songan said Unimas’ e-Bario project, which connects the Kelabit Highlands to the world through an information and communication telecentre, has benefited about 5,000 villagers, including students.
The project, which was implemented in 2000, has won numerous international IT awards.
At present, the people of Bario are able to independently maintain the telecentre and related equipment.
Prof Songan said Unimas was now working to upgrade e-Bario to a pilot model broadband network site for rural communities.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
ICT to preserve indigenous traditional knowledge
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/7/nation/20090707122037&sec=nation
Published: Tuesday July 7, 2009 MYT 12:18:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday July 7, 2009 MYT 12:19:11 PM
ICT to preserve indigenous traditional knowledge
By JACK WONG
jackwong@thestar.com.my
KUCHING: Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud wants the traditional knowledge of the state’s nearly 30 ethnic groups to be preserved through the use of information and communication technology (ICT).
He said many of these ethnic groups passed down knowledge orally from one generation to the next, through stories and songs for example.
“There is much to be learnt from these communities, the knowledge they have on health, history and way of life,” he said in a speech to open the sixth international conference on information technology in Asia at Kuching Hilton Tuesday.
Taib’s text of speech was read by his deputy Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam.
Taib urged Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), which organised the four-day conference, and other research institutions to identify ways in which ICT could be used to preserve traditional knowledge.
“There is a need, for example, to enhance speech-recognition technologies to speed up the process of converting speech to text so that the text can be stored and analysed.”
He said machine translation software, which Unimas was doing research on, should be developed for local languages.
The move, he added, would enable indigenous languages to be translated to English.
Taib commended Unimas for its successful e-Bario project, which enabled students and villagers in the Kelabit highland in northern Sarawak to connect to the world through ICT telecentres.
He said as the state was still short of competent and skilled IT and engineering professionals, Unimas could play a vital role in human resource development programmes.
“Unimas will be at the heart of the state’s Multimedia Super Corridor activities, particularly looking at the incubation facilities for technology startups and in addressing the state’s human resource development needs.
“This would assist very much in the Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy project which aims to create 1.6 million jobs with 10 social and commercial sectors to be opened up,” said Taib.
Published: Tuesday July 7, 2009 MYT 12:18:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday July 7, 2009 MYT 12:19:11 PM
ICT to preserve indigenous traditional knowledge
By JACK WONG
jackwong@thestar.com.my
KUCHING: Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud wants the traditional knowledge of the state’s nearly 30 ethnic groups to be preserved through the use of information and communication technology (ICT).
He said many of these ethnic groups passed down knowledge orally from one generation to the next, through stories and songs for example.
“There is much to be learnt from these communities, the knowledge they have on health, history and way of life,” he said in a speech to open the sixth international conference on information technology in Asia at Kuching Hilton Tuesday.
Taib’s text of speech was read by his deputy Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam.
Taib urged Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), which organised the four-day conference, and other research institutions to identify ways in which ICT could be used to preserve traditional knowledge.
“There is a need, for example, to enhance speech-recognition technologies to speed up the process of converting speech to text so that the text can be stored and analysed.”
He said machine translation software, which Unimas was doing research on, should be developed for local languages.
The move, he added, would enable indigenous languages to be translated to English.
Taib commended Unimas for its successful e-Bario project, which enabled students and villagers in the Kelabit highland in northern Sarawak to connect to the world through ICT telecentres.
He said as the state was still short of competent and skilled IT and engineering professionals, Unimas could play a vital role in human resource development programmes.
“Unimas will be at the heart of the state’s Multimedia Super Corridor activities, particularly looking at the incubation facilities for technology startups and in addressing the state’s human resource development needs.
“This would assist very much in the Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy project which aims to create 1.6 million jobs with 10 social and commercial sectors to be opened up,” said Taib.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Kelabit co-invents fastest LET, LED
http://www.malaysianmirror.com/nationaldetail/6-national/1818-kelabit-co-invents-fastest-let-led
Kelabit co-invents fastest LET, LED
Thursday, 18 June 2009 14:55
KUALA LUMPUR - A young Kelabit put Malaysia on the forefront of environmental technology by co-inventing the world's fastest Light Emitting Transistor (LET) and Light Emitting Diode (LED).
Gabriel Walter, 32, who holds a bachelor and master's degree as well as a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (UIUC) in the United States, scored both a national and personal breakthrough in technology by co-inventing light emitters capable of transmitting at speeds of up to 7GHz.
This translates into technology that is capable of conserving a massive amount of energy, in an age where every country is trying to come up with renewable sources and conserve whatever is available.
For more than 40 years, the scientific community believed that light devices cannot be operated at bandwidths larger than 1 GHz.
However, Walter, through collaboration between his own company Quantum Electro Opto Systems (QEOS) Sdn Bhd and a research team from his alma mater, came up with the technology that defied 40 years of scientific norm.
It took over five years of research but the QEOS-UIUC team proved that it was possible to operate LET at 4.3GHz and LED at 7GHz.
According to US-based Walter, the QEOS gigabit speed LED was unique as it was cost-efficient to make and its implementation was "as effortless as the light bulb". "It will introduce a pricing pressure and impact not seen before in the data communication and consumer electronic market. And for some fibre optic implementations, the LEDs consume 90 per cent less power compared to existing optical solutions," he said in a media release Wednesday.
He said the high-speed LEDs would enable a new class of cost-competitive "green" products that were not only environmentally friendly but aesthetically pleasing as well. "Those thick ugly cables that usually come with your high-definition television and monitors will be things of the past," he said.
Breakthrough technology
The research was funded by an agency under the United States Department of Defence for the development of new technology for use by the US military.
Walter, from Kuching, Sarawak, scored his second success when the research was selected for publication in the June 15 edition of the Applied Physics Letter, the most widely-circulated technical journals in the world. Only 52 of over 10,000 papers submitted to the Applied Physics Letter annually were selected to be on the cover.
Just how big is this achievement?
"It is a major achievement to be featured in this publication for our success of the 4.3GHz high-speed LET as the device has an additional capability to integrate optoelectronics. It will do the same to the world of optoelectronics like what transistors did to the world of electronics. The potential applications are essentially limitless," he said.
At least four important patents have been jointly filed by the QEOS-UIUC team to protect these discoveries.
QEOS is based in Ayer Keroh, Melaka, and incorporated in May 2008 through the Brain Gain Malaysia Programme, an experimental initiative under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).
Its founders include Prof Nick Holonyak Jr, recognised globally as the Father of the Optoelectronic Industry and inventor of LED and Prof Milton Feng, world-renowed microwave technology expert and current record holder for the world's fastest transistor.
Walter said it was almost a year before the founders accepted the challenge to commercialise the technology from within Malaysia. "Personally, I had to make sure that the government would be as committed as I would be to the programme. We have been very fortunate to work with dedicated people from MOSTI, MIDA (Malaysian Industrial Development Agency) and MDV (Malaysia Debt Ventures Berhad)," he said.
Malaysian manufactured components
Walter said at least 30 per cent of the components used to manufacture the products resulting from this new achievement would be from Malaysia-based companies as they would like to help generate business activities for local suppliers.
He disclosed that the research and development (R&D) facility in Melaka would be developed and improved over the next five years to cater for work on advanced product and application development, device characterisation and analysis as well as device layout and design, among others.
"Melaka will be the QEOS headquarters for R&D. We are currently lining up the necessary investments from both local and foreign sources to make this happen," he said.
The Brain Gain Malaysia (BGM) programme encourages Malaysian scientists and researchers residing abroad and working on high-impact, commercial-ready technology, to return and help accelerate Malaysia's transformation into an innovation-led economy. - Bernama
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kelabit co-invents fastest LET, LED
Thursday, 18 June 2009 14:55
KUALA LUMPUR - A young Kelabit put Malaysia on the forefront of environmental technology by co-inventing the world's fastest Light Emitting Transistor (LET) and Light Emitting Diode (LED).
Gabriel Walter, 32, who holds a bachelor and master's degree as well as a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (UIUC) in the United States, scored both a national and personal breakthrough in technology by co-inventing light emitters capable of transmitting at speeds of up to 7GHz.
This translates into technology that is capable of conserving a massive amount of energy, in an age where every country is trying to come up with renewable sources and conserve whatever is available.
For more than 40 years, the scientific community believed that light devices cannot be operated at bandwidths larger than 1 GHz.
However, Walter, through collaboration between his own company Quantum Electro Opto Systems (QEOS) Sdn Bhd and a research team from his alma mater, came up with the technology that defied 40 years of scientific norm.
It took over five years of research but the QEOS-UIUC team proved that it was possible to operate LET at 4.3GHz and LED at 7GHz.
According to US-based Walter, the QEOS gigabit speed LED was unique as it was cost-efficient to make and its implementation was "as effortless as the light bulb". "It will introduce a pricing pressure and impact not seen before in the data communication and consumer electronic market. And for some fibre optic implementations, the LEDs consume 90 per cent less power compared to existing optical solutions," he said in a media release Wednesday.
He said the high-speed LEDs would enable a new class of cost-competitive "green" products that were not only environmentally friendly but aesthetically pleasing as well. "Those thick ugly cables that usually come with your high-definition television and monitors will be things of the past," he said.
Breakthrough technology
The research was funded by an agency under the United States Department of Defence for the development of new technology for use by the US military.
Walter, from Kuching, Sarawak, scored his second success when the research was selected for publication in the June 15 edition of the Applied Physics Letter, the most widely-circulated technical journals in the world. Only 52 of over 10,000 papers submitted to the Applied Physics Letter annually were selected to be on the cover.
Just how big is this achievement?
"It is a major achievement to be featured in this publication for our success of the 4.3GHz high-speed LET as the device has an additional capability to integrate optoelectronics. It will do the same to the world of optoelectronics like what transistors did to the world of electronics. The potential applications are essentially limitless," he said.
At least four important patents have been jointly filed by the QEOS-UIUC team to protect these discoveries.
QEOS is based in Ayer Keroh, Melaka, and incorporated in May 2008 through the Brain Gain Malaysia Programme, an experimental initiative under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).
Its founders include Prof Nick Holonyak Jr, recognised globally as the Father of the Optoelectronic Industry and inventor of LED and Prof Milton Feng, world-renowed microwave technology expert and current record holder for the world's fastest transistor.
Walter said it was almost a year before the founders accepted the challenge to commercialise the technology from within Malaysia. "Personally, I had to make sure that the government would be as committed as I would be to the programme. We have been very fortunate to work with dedicated people from MOSTI, MIDA (Malaysian Industrial Development Agency) and MDV (Malaysia Debt Ventures Berhad)," he said.
Malaysian manufactured components
Walter said at least 30 per cent of the components used to manufacture the products resulting from this new achievement would be from Malaysia-based companies as they would like to help generate business activities for local suppliers.
He disclosed that the research and development (R&D) facility in Melaka would be developed and improved over the next five years to cater for work on advanced product and application development, device characterisation and analysis as well as device layout and design, among others.
"Melaka will be the QEOS headquarters for R&D. We are currently lining up the necessary investments from both local and foreign sources to make this happen," he said.
The Brain Gain Malaysia (BGM) programme encourages Malaysian scientists and researchers residing abroad and working on high-impact, commercial-ready technology, to return and help accelerate Malaysia's transformation into an innovation-led economy. - Bernama
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Sarawak to preserve burial poles
Grand sight: File pic showing a magnificent twin carved poles with an elaborate salong (burial hut) which is on display at the Sarawak Museum. It was originally made by a Kayan chieftain in the Belaga area for his daughter in the mid 19th century and was presented by the Belaga folks to the museum in 1973. The poles, mostly found in the interior, have different names like klireng, klidieng, salong, jerunai and pagol.
Wednesday June 3, 2009
Sarawak to preserve burial poles
KUCHING: Sarawak will preserve burial poles which the native tribes used to bury the dead in the old days.
The Sarawak Museum is carrying out a survey on the different types of burial poles, said state Urban Development and Tourism Minister Datuk Michael Manyin.
Manyin said that once the survey was completed, the museum would draw up a management plan to preserve the various burial poles.
The museum was also carrying out surveys on, and documenting cultural sites in the Bario Highlands – the heartland of the Orang Ulus – in northern Sarawak.
The joint study, entitled the “Cultural Rainforest”, was being undertaken in collaboration with British universities like Cambridge and Oxford.
“The study will shed light on the history and present day use of the forest as a material and cultural landscape in the highlands,’’ Manyin said.
“It will also give direction and guidelines on how best to manage, preserve and develop the various cultural sites, especially the megaliths and rock engravings.”
The state was bestowed with unique and interesting historical and cultural legacy, he said, adding that it had gazetted 36 historical buildings and sites as historical monuments.
The museum plans to open a Natural History gallery here in November to display the state’s rich natural heritage.
State approves solar-wind power plant for Bario Highlands
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/3/nation/4032782&sec=nation
Wednesday June 3, 2009
State approves solar-wind power plant for Bario Highlands
MIRI: The state government has given the green light for a pioneer plant in the Bario Highlands to generate electricity from sunlight and wind – to replace a RM10mil hydro-electric dam which failed for lack of water.
The project, the first of its kind in the state, will use a combination of solar and wind energy to generate power for use in the 2,000m-high mountainous region at the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
State Public Utilities Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said the state Cabinet had recently decided that solar-wind power was the best option for the highlands.
“The failed hydro-electric dam project will be replaced by this hybrid plant,’’ he told a gathering at the Kelabit and Lun Bawang Highlanders Club here on Monday night.
“However, there may be a need to build a few micro-hydrodams to generate power for villages that are far away.”
The Bario Highlands, located some 300km from Miri, is home to 6,000 people.
In the early 1990s, the state government built the dam to generate electricity for the folks there who had to rely on diesel fuel to power their generators.
However, the dam failed to function due to low river water pressure. The state authorities tried in vain to revive the project, including enlisting the help of dam experts.
Two years ago, a proposal was made to build another hydro-electric dam to replace the one which failed.
However, the state Cabinet has now decided that the best option would be the hybrid solar-wind plant because the highlands have plenty of sunshine and wind for most of the year.
Wednesday June 3, 2009
State approves solar-wind power plant for Bario Highlands
MIRI: The state government has given the green light for a pioneer plant in the Bario Highlands to generate electricity from sunlight and wind – to replace a RM10mil hydro-electric dam which failed for lack of water.
The project, the first of its kind in the state, will use a combination of solar and wind energy to generate power for use in the 2,000m-high mountainous region at the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
State Public Utilities Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said the state Cabinet had recently decided that solar-wind power was the best option for the highlands.
“The failed hydro-electric dam project will be replaced by this hybrid plant,’’ he told a gathering at the Kelabit and Lun Bawang Highlanders Club here on Monday night.
“However, there may be a need to build a few micro-hydrodams to generate power for villages that are far away.”
The Bario Highlands, located some 300km from Miri, is home to 6,000 people.
In the early 1990s, the state government built the dam to generate electricity for the folks there who had to rely on diesel fuel to power their generators.
However, the dam failed to function due to low river water pressure. The state authorities tried in vain to revive the project, including enlisting the help of dam experts.
Two years ago, a proposal was made to build another hydro-electric dam to replace the one which failed.
However, the state Cabinet has now decided that the best option would be the hybrid solar-wind plant because the highlands have plenty of sunshine and wind for most of the year.
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