Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

42 PERSISTENT PROBLEMS, PROMISING SOLUTIONS AND BENEFICENCEdeveloping their community. Such public consultationsor hearing processes should take a long time in order toproperly assess a community’s needs, such as its needfor mining developments, energy services and wastedisposal systems, and fully analyze the different optionsfor meeting those needs. The proponents should notengage in any construction activity during this period.(2) It is important that Japanese proponents should besufficiently accountable to local people as well as to theJapanese public. They should provide adequate writteninformation upon the request of the local people, inthe manner and language best understandable to thelocals, so that they can properly discuss whether or notthe proposed project will be the best option to meettheir needs. The proponents could also actively havedialogues directly with local residents/NGOs who havebrought up concerns and opinions.(3) Japanese proponents should carefully take intoaccount the political and cultural background in eachsociety where the implementors engage in their projects,by conducting social and cultural impact studies withrelevant experts before the approval of any project. Someaffected communities, especially indigenous people’sgroups, have their own traditional decisionmakingprocess. Local politics can sometimes be one of the bigfactors that hinder affected people from benefiting froma project.(4) The human rights situation around project areas,especially the state of the freedom of expression, mustbe closely studied when Japanese proponents propose aproject. The project should not be pushed through if thelocal people are significantly hindered from expressingtheir opposition to the project, or if the meaningfulparticipation of local people is not secured. In thePhilippines, a spate of extra-judicial killings/enforceddisappearances has occured, whereby people opposingdevelopment projects are labeled as terrorists and someof them have become victims of political killings.In Malaysia, the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA), apreventive detention law under which any person maybe detained by the police for up to 60 days without trialfor an act that allegedly threatens the security of thecountry or any part thereof, has been consistently usedagainst people who criticize the government and defendhuman rights and has suppressed opposition and opendebate.following documents:1. Ehara Corporation. Environmental Policy. September2007 .2. GAIA South, Inc. Environmental Impact Statementfor the Hydrometallurgical Processing Plant Project inBataraza, Palawan. July 2001.3. Hatch Associates (Philippines), Inc. EnvironmentalImpact Statement for 210 MW (net) Mindanao CoalfiredPower Plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental.January 2002.4. Perunding Utama Sdn Bhd. Detailed EnvironmentalImpact Assessment for Proposed Thermal TreatmentPlant for Solid Waste Management at Beroga, MukimSemenyih, Daerah, Hulu Langat, Selangor DarulEhsan. August 2003.5. Perunding Utama Sdn Bhd. Addendum to DetailedEIA Report, Detailed Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Proposed Thermal Treatment Plant for Solid WasteManagement at Beroga, Mukim Semenyih, Daerah,Hulu Langat, Selangor Darul Ehsan. March 2005.6. Steag State Power Inc. Social Development Plan.September 2007 .2In fact, in the author’s interview on 13 July 2007 after theofficial announcement of the cancellation of the megaincinerator,an officer of the newly established Departmentof National Solid Waste Management shared his viewthat the government decision had not been because of thelocal people’s protest but rather because of the financialand economic aspects. The project in Broga is expected tocost another RM200 million per year to operate. Manyexperts have estimated that the cost of burning everytonne of rubbish could be as high as RM240 compared toonly RM25 per ton for the current landfill method.NOTES1 The case studies were also drawn from a review of theAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows