Extend electricity bill discount to Sabah, S'wak too

MP SPEAKS | While I welcome the federal government’s announcement of an additional RM942 million in discounts and rebates for domestic users' electricity bills in West Malaysia, I urge both the federal and Sarawak government to also provide such incentives and rebates for domestic users in Sarawak.

We have also experienced soaring electricity bills especially during the movement control order (MCO) period as most people were confined to their homes to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Today, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah made the announcement in view of many multiple cases of complaints of soaring electricity bills during the MCO period. 

Although it was only limited in West Malaysia, based on the announcement, domestic users will enjoy free electricity for the months of April until June if their consumption for those months is under 300kWh or RM77. Those that use above that amount instead will get a discount of RM77 for those three months.

While such incentives are good, I question why the federal government did not initiate discussions with other state-owned utility companies such as Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) to also extend such financial aid to Sarawak as well so that all Malaysians can also enjoy such a benefit?

During this MCO period, we have also been receiving multiple complaints from the public here in Sarawak of high electricity bills. We helped a few to lodge a complaint with SEB where they were asked to produce snapshots of their actual consumption based on their premises’ metres for the past few months.

Even so, in general, many are also burdened with higher bills as the usage of electricity for most families has also soared due to being confined at home during the MCO period as they need to stay home to help curb the spread of the virus too. 

That is why it would not be fair to Sabahans or Sarawakians to also miss out on this incentive that can help ease their financial burden, especially during this tough time.

That is why I urge both the federal and state governments to extend such incentives and rebates to both Sabah and Sarawak so that all Malaysians regardless of demography will not be left out from being included for such benefits.

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KELVIN YII LEE WUEN is MP for Bandar Kuching. - Mkini