Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah West Coast Smart Consumers Association called on the public to play their part by helping Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) deal with the rampant cable theft problem in the State.
Its President David Chan said it would be difficult for the authorities to eliminate the problem, which has affected the State’s electricity supply, without support and help from the public.
He said cases of cable theft or any vandalism needed to be dealt with in an integrated manner, and could not be put squarely on the shoulders of the authorities.
“In this issue, the public need to be the eyes and ears of the SESB and the authorities,” he said in a statement, Monday.
“Cable thefts not only cause the electricity supply to be disrupted but also inflict losses on the State.
“We hope this issue is given serious attention (and involves) non-governmental organisations and community leaders,” he added.
Cable thefts have been a persistent problem in Sabah despite the authorities’ best efforts.
Last week, cable thieves forced SESB to deploy six portable generators at Menara Kinabalu, the 33-storey administrative building housing the Chief Minister’s office is located, in order to supply power to the site.
Houses and commercial establishments near the building were also affected.
SESB Senior General Manager (Asset Management) Idris Mohd Noor said they had to install the generators due to supply disruption to the building that was caused by damage to the cables.
He said SESB’s technical team had found damage to the 33kV line caused by an attempt to remove and steal the cable.
