Sabah should take back SESB

PENAMPANG, 4 Jan 2010: Sabah should take back Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd. (SESB) after the utility company failed to improve power supply all over the State following its privatisation exercise.

Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee said energy supply management better be managed by Sabah as the State have the abilities to do so.

He said the Sabah Electric Board (SEB) had been handed over to Kuala Lumpur by the Berjaya Government due to insufficient funds but no improvement was seen.

He said following that, the SEB was privatised in 1998 and renamed SESB when taken over by the Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

"Twenty years after being given to the Federal, Sabah's electricity problems remain. Previously Berjaya Government handed over SEB to Kuala Lumpur hoping the problem could be addressed but not so. The TNB came in 11 years ago promising to overcome it but until today, the same problem remains," he said.

He was speaking at the formation of SAPP Kampung Kibabaig branch and receiving new members led by Florian Chong at the residence of Jolis Podi, at Kampung Kibabaig, near here.

Yong who is a former Chief Minister said Sabah has the ability to manage its energy supply just like Sarawak .

He added that Sarawak run its own electricity supply via SESCO and have never face any problems.

He said SAPP has a task force studying the mechanism to take back SESB.

"Like Air Asia which was sold by the government to the private sector for one Ringgit, we ask that TNB shares in SESB be given back to Sabah for one Ringgit as well," he said.

He said Sabah has the ability and could prove has the ability can do a better job.

Yong said Sabah have nothing to lose except the bosses from Kuala Lumpur .

He said it is sheer arrogance for the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government to pipe Sabah's natural gas to Bintulu LNG Plant 500km away at a cost of billions Ringgit, but not allowed Sabah to use that gas for power generation in the State.

"We are forced to buy Indonesian coal for a coal power plant from China . To add insult to injury, the coal power plant is targeted to be located in the Tungku Lahad Datu FELDA – which was state land given to FELDA supposed to be for local settlers but end up mostly as FELDA corporate land," he said.

He said the Bintulu LNG plant is capable to produce 25 Million ton per annum (MTA) which is the biggest plant in the whole world.

He said the plant is now being expanded to take in more gas to be converted into LNG to be sold to Japan and China at massive profits of billions of Ringgit to Petronas.

He said Dec 22 last year, the Senate was told by the Federal Deputy Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water that is too expensive to transmit power supply from Bakun near Bintulu to Sabah .

Yong said the Deputy Minister's reasons were because of the terrain.

"Ironically, why is it possible to pipe our gas to Bintulu? Why was the same terrain of mountains, rivers and valleys not a problem when it comes to pipe our gas to Bintulu? It is the same geography, same terrain, same mountains, the same rivers, the same jungles, the same that carries our gas away to Bintulu that cannot also take electric power from Bakun to Sabah ," he said.

He said TNB was reported planning to transmit the same power supply from the same Bakun dam to peninsula Malaysia , across 700km of the South China Sea .

"Even a Form Three geography student knows. But our leaders do not know," he said.

Yong said he was angry not because Kuala Lumpur is cheating Sabah, but very angry because Sabah leaders in the Federal and State Governments are not defending Sabahans.

As result, he said Sabahans pay more for electricity, forced to take a dirty polluting coal power plant, and still suffer power breakdowns.

"All these must change. We shall no longer keep quiet," he added.

He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during his visit here in November last year had told Sabahans to compromise and accepts the coal power plant.

My answer is that how can the PM ask the poorest state to compromise? Yong said.