Kota Kinabalu: KOTA Kinabalu Chinese Chambers of Commerce President Datuk Michael Lui on Wednesday reiterated his call to Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to compensate damages suffered by consumers. He recommended the compensation be made in the form of cash rebate or tariff discount to general users particularly those in the manufacturing sector in their monthly bills.
A survey has been made among members on the impact of the Jan 17 massive power outage in Sabah and Labuan, and the feedback will be compiled and submitted to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) he said.
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Lui claimed the manufacturing sector was the worst affected as a majority of them do not have standby generators.
And on Jan 17, manufacturers ceased operations throughout the entire power outage, which lasted nearly eight hours.
"Even the restaurants and eateries reported to have suffered a 30 per cent average drop in business during the peak lunch hour period. Without power supply for cooking and making drinks they were affected forcing some outlets to temporarily close business," he said in a statement here.
Lui also claimed the outage caused crawling traffic conditions on several highways due to non-functioning traffic lights, although traffic police were mobilised.
He claimed response from the survey had been overwhelming and urged Miti to conduct a joint-meeting with the relevant stakeholders including SESB and the chambers to come out with an effective long-term solution.
Meanwhile, Lui also wished the Chinese community a very Happy New Year.
"The Chinese New Year symbolises the coming of the season of spring and the whole world would see a renewal," he said.
He said the pioneering spirit of the horse is full of vitality for success.
"We must therefore upgrade our own individual humane quality, to meaningfully face any challenges, broadening our vision to go forward," he said.
