Time for SESB to shed some light on 1Borneo fiasco

Why did the utility company allow the mall to rack up a RM9.3 million bill?

COMMENT

By Clement Stanley

At a busy intersection in Kota Kinabalu stands Wisma SESB (Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd). Proudly displayed on the top of the building is the company slogan, “Your Light, Our Pride”. That probably explains why there is no blackout about the ongoing debacle between Sabah’s largest shopping mall, 1Borneo, and SESB in the mass media. It is not by any means an issue that should be taken lightly. It affects the livelihood of many and the image of Sabah as a tourist destination.

While blame is being shifted from one party to another, the question that should be asked is this: How and why did SESB allow the management of 1Borneo to accumulate the staggering amount of RM9.3 million in unpaid bills?

If you do a search on the organisation you will note that SESB has a corporate vision, a corporate mission and corporate values. Its core values include maintaining integrity, business and service excellence, being caring and putting customers first.

Unfortunately, these core values sound rather hollow at the moment considering the plight of those who operate at 1Borneo.

But coming back to the issue at hand: As a consumer, I know for a fact that if you fail to pay your electricity bills within 60 days for whatever reason, you will be given a warning letter.

The letter states that to enjoy continued electricity supply to your home, you are advised to settle your outstanding amount immediately. If you fail to settle the bill, you can be sure that SESB will disconnect your electricity supply. You then have to pay a fee of RM50 to reconnect your supply. Therefore, for SESB to allow 1Borneo to rack up a bill amounting to RM9.3 million without any disconnection is unbelievable.

It defies logic and common sense. Was 1Borneo even given a warning letter?

This incident also raises another question: Why was no action taken earlier against 1Borneo when SESB takes extreme measures against domestic users? Who was SESB afraid of by letting this situation get out of hand? It had every opportunity to nip the problem in the bud but chose not to. Is there something more to this than meets the eye?

Perhaps it would be a good test case if the owners of the shop lots took up a class action suit against SESB for being anything but vigilant against this unacceptable situation. It is time that corporate giants such as SESB are taught a lesson. You can’t push people who earn an honest living to the edge and hope to get away with it just because you were either scared of the powers that be or you succumbed to interference by hidden hands. That is simply not the way to show your core values of being “caring, maintaining business and service excellence, putting your customers first and being an organisation that promotes integrity”.

If your slogan “Your Light, Our Pride” is nothing more than rhetoric, perhaps it would be better if you changed it a little to read “Your Plight, Our Pride”.

Clement Stanley is an FMT reader.