Sabah needs to emulate the electricity supply governance of the Federal Government and Sarawak

19 October 2023

By Nabalu News Journalist

KUALA LUMPUR: Sabah needs to emulate the electricity supply governance system of the Federal Government and Sarawak Province when governance is handed over to the state government next year.

Member of Parliament for Tuaran, Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau said, when the administration of electricity supply is handed over early next year, we hope the governance system will improve from the current one.

"The Sabah government should emulate the Federal Government and the Sarawak government where there are three main components in energy governance.

"For example, at the federal level there is a Policy Maker namely the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change; there is a Regulator or Regulator namely the Energy Commission (ST), and there is a Utility Company namely Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

"These three components work together as a team or a seamless governance instead of working in silos trying to outdo one another," he said.

He said this at the Dewan Rakyat conference session, here on Tuesday.

Madius said, the Sabah Government needs to be reminded that although electricity supply is a federal matter as stated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963, the federal government has given responsibility for this utility to the region since the formation of Malaysia.

"However, in 1982, the Sabah Government handed over the governance of electricity supply to the federation due to the pressure of financial sustainability issues.

"And today, due to financial sustainability, the federal government has returned the responsibility of managing electricity supply affairs to Sabah.

"Tuaran hopes this reassignment will last forever and not the other way around," said Madius

The Honorary President of the United Kinabalu Progressive Organization (UPKO) also reiterated his stance on the issue of water supply in Sabah.

He said, the supply of clean water has been haunting the land under the wind for a long time.

"There was also a specific announcement about the intervention of the Federal Government recently, but until now the people are still waiting when the plan will become a reality.

"The fact is that the people are going through the hardships of dealing with water supply rationing for days. The reserve margin is already at a negative level, and the trucks that deliver the water supply are not enough."

He added that water supply governance in Sabah should also follow steps similar to what has been done at the federal level.

"There is a Policy Maker namely the Ministry; there also needs to be a regulator such as the National Water Service Commission (SPAN) and then there is a utility company to carry out water treatment and distribution operations.

"This Honorable House does not need to be warned about the case of abuse of power in the Sabah Water Department which has been tried for years without an end. The people are wondering when this case will be resolved," stressed Madius.