Yong: Everybody knows except Herbert

Kota Kinabalu, Jan 6, 2010: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president, Datuk Yong Teck Lee today said the Sabah Electricity Board (SEB) was handed over by then Berjaya Government to the Federal Government in the 1980's. Everbody knows except Herbert Timbon Lagadan.

"There was little public objection to this federalization of SEB because SEB at the time had failed in its duty to provide reliable electricity supply. The reasoning at the time was that that the Federal Government had the necessary funds and management expertise to resolve the electricity problem. SEB was put directly under the Federal Ministry of Energy as a 100% federal agency. As we know, SEB failed.

"In 1998, the State Government got back some shares in SESB when it was corporatised as a private Limited Company with the expectation that Tenaga Nasional Berhad(TNB) will do better than the Ministry of Energy. TNB makes huge profits each year. TNB has management and technical expertise. But SESB, as part of TNB, still failed.

"We see Sesco of Sarawak, if they can run their electric power company successfully, why can't Sabah ?. Since the Federal Government has failed to solve the electricity supply problems in Sabah, SAPP proposes that SESB be returned to Sabah .

"In the same way the Air Asia was sold by the Federal Government for one ringgit, there is nothing to say SESB cannot be returned to its original owner, the Sabah State Government. Afterall, SEB was given to the Federal Government without compensation.

"What does Herbert Timbon Lagadan has to say when PBS allowed itself to be used by the then PM, Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi, to reject the UPKO President, Tan Seri Bernard Dompok's position to keep the natural gas in Sabah.

"Herbert Timbon Lagadan should remember that on 31st May 2008, Pak Lah announced in Sabah that the gas pipeline from Kimanis to Bintulu was scrapped. But later at the 23rd PBS Congress in November 2008, Pak Lah reversed the decision. Petronas was afterall allowed to pipe away our natural resource(gas)to their LNG plant in Bintulu.

"UPKO President, Tan Seri Bernard Dompok, although the most senior Federal Minister after the Deputy PM, had to eat his words that he hold the PM to his commitment to keep the natural gas in Sabah.

"This was divide and rule policy in practice. As a consequence of such decision, the people of Sabah become the victims who continue to suffer from frequent power failure, high electricity charges and soon pollution from a future coal power plant.

"My contention, what have PBS leaders got to say about this? " asked Yong.

"They have a Federal Minister (Dr. Max) who can send an astronaut to the outer space but cannot have the technology to generate electric supply for the East Cost of Sabah using our own natural gas," Yong said.