KUCHING, June 20: Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii calls for the Federal and Sarawak governments to extend the electricity incentives and rebates to Sarawak and Sabah.
Dr Yii said he has also been receiving multiple complaints from the public here in Sarawak due to high electricity bills especially during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
He had also helped a few people lodged complaints to Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) where they were asked to produce snapshots of their actual consumption at their premises’ meter which was based on estimated consumption for the past few months.
‘Even so, in general, many are also burdened with higher bills as the usage of electricity for most families have also soared due to being confined at home during the MCO period as they needed to stay home to help curb the spread of the virus too.
“That is why it would not be fair to Sarawakians or Sabahans, to also miss out on this incentive that can help ease their financial burdens especially during this tough time,” he said in a statement today.
Hence, he urged both the Federal and State Governments to extend such incentives and rebates to both Sarawak and Sabah so that all Malaysians regardless of demography will not be left out from such benefit.
“While I welcome the Federal Government’s announcement of an additional RM942 million in discounts and rebates for domestic user’s electricity bills in Peninsular Malaysia, I urge both the Federal and Sarawak governments to also provide such incentives and rebates for domestic users in Sarawak as we have also experienced soaring electricity bills especially during the MCO period as most people were confined to their homes to curb the spread of Covid-19,” he added.
He noted that 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 this period, although it was only limited in Peninsular Malaysia.
Based on the announcement, he said, domestic users will enjoy free electricity from April until June if their consumption for those months were under 300kWh or RM77, and 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 benefit,” he added. –DayakDaily.
