Tawau: Sabah DAP has begun its move to rally support from the public here to sue the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) over the failure to provide necessary service to the people in the district and in the State.Its Sri Tanjong Assemblyman Jimmy Wong, together with Kota Kinabalu MP Dr Hiew King Cheu, presented their views and reasons for filing the legal suit against SESB.
Also in the gathering held at a hotel here on Sunday were representatives from Parti Keadilan Rakyat and PAS led by Haji Mohd Abdullah.
Wong, in his presentation, stated that they were demanding SESB follow the standard regulation of any power supply company by generating additional 25 per cent of electricity than needed to overcome the current shortage.
"The current need of the State is around 800 megawatts and we want them to generate 25 per cent more to cater for any failure in power supply," he said.
He explained that the current use of 800 megawatts does not include the planned and ongoing development such as the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) and this, in due time, will only result in even more power shortage.
He said they were urging the public to become the plaintiff in this case, as the action will ensure the State will not face power disruptions in the future.
"Till today, no official apology has been made by SESB to the public," he stressed.
Hiew, in his presentation, stressed on the sufficient power generation for both West Malaysia and Sarawak while Sabah continued to rely on antique machines for power.
He said the constant power disruptions had caused huge losses to the public, while SESB had only presented long-term projects which could only be kicked off between two and three years while no solution was in sight for the duration until these projects are completed.
"I have been asking for the Liwagu area to be developed with hydro electric dam to generate the much-needed power as the project had been shelved for some eight years," he added.
Hiew said should the Liwagu project be implemented Sabah would not face such power shortage as it could generate some 300 megawatts.
Touching on Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Hiew said TNB owns 80 per cent share in SESB, with the remaining 20 per cent by the State Government.
He added that TNB had made billions of ringgit with projects overseas but failed to upgrade SESB to satisfy the needs of Sabahans.
He also questioned the decision not to channel power from the Bakun dam project as it only requires some 760 kilometres for it to be connected to the Sabah's grid system.
Instead, he said they decided to channel the power to West Malaysia, which requires huge undersea cables with a length of around 1,500 kilometres.
"Without power from Bakun, SESB has to continue to rely on its out-of-date generators in the State," he added.
Mohd Abdullah, meanwhile, stressed on the fear of Muslims failing to fulfil their obligation during the fasting month with the uncertain power supply.
"That is why we are joining the effort to bring SESB to court over its failure in providing the much-needed service to the public," he said.
