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SANDAKAN: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak could have been misinformed, or misquoted by the media with regards to his announcement that the decision of the government on the building of a 300 megawatt coal-fired plant in Felda Sahabat, Lahad Datu was final, said Sabah Environmental Protection Association (Sepa).

Sepa chairman Wong Tack said: “Sepa is ready and willing to meet up with the prime minister to get his clarification on his announcement.”

He was commenting on a statement by Najib who was quoted as saying in Tawau on Sunday that the frequent power blackout in Tawau would be solved soon with the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Felda Sahabat, Lahad Datu, as an alternative measure besides buying more power generators.

Wong said that Najib attended the Bali Climate Change Summit 2009 where he committed to join in and support international efforts to fight climate change and global warming.

“Our prime minister also attended CTI (Coral Triangle Initiative) Summit between the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia in May 2009. Malaysia committed herself by contributing RM1 billion to support the initiative of the group,” said Wong.

“With the prime minister’s 1Malaysia concept, ‘People First, Performance Now’, we strongly believe that he would listen to the voices of the people as there is strong objection from the people of Lahad Datu, Tawau and Sandakan.

“Even some component parties of BN and NGOs came out openly to object to the proposal to build the 300 megawatt plant in any part of Sabah,” continued Wong.

Wong also said that the Felda scheme is still within Sabah and the people had made themselves very clear that they do not welcome any coal-fired plant in Sabah.”

Meanwhile, chairman of Sandakan Anti-Coal Action Committee, Stephen Wong, regretted the final decision to build the coal-fired plant in Sahabat, Lahad-Datu as announced by the prime minister.

Stephen said his committee was sad and asked: “Did the government really listen to the people? We hope that the present government would seriously reconsider and not do anything that is harmful to our future generation and to be cursed in due course.”

http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=58266

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The Government has given the green light for the controversial coal-fired power plant to be set up in the Felda Sahabat scheme about 100km from Lahad Datu.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the power plant was necessary to overcome the serious electricity supply problem in Sabah

Najib also said that the frequent power supply disruption in Tawau would be solved soon with the construction of a coal-powered plant in Felda Sahabat, Lahad Datu, as an alternative measure, besides buying more power generators.

“There are still many areas in Sabah including its east coast region which are experiencing power supply disruptions. Therefore, the government will send a power generator from Sime Darby to Sabah in December, besides setting up two more power plants in the state as a long-term measure.”

“It was planned for Lahad Datu and Sandakan but they did not want it (situated there), so as the minister-in-charge of Felda, we will do it in Felda Sahabat or Sabahans will not get enough electricity supply,” he said.

The move to initially set up a 300MW coal plant in Silam near Lahad Datu was rejected by the state government following protests. It was then proposed that it be situated in Sandakan, but this was also met with protest, urging the government to use green technology or other alternative power sources

Najib also called on the state’s leaders to take care of the people and be close to them to ensure that the BN government continued to be accepted by the people and remained strong. ………….

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/14/nation/4710312&sec=nation

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=440188

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WHEN Jim Morrison sang “Come on baby light my fire” I heard it. The SESB didn’t. when Debbie Boone sang “you light up my life” I heard it and the SESB didn’t.

But when the SESB cash registers started to ring, everyone in SESB heard it. I wished I hadn’t.

Through time immemorial SESB has been ringing up the bills, promptly, efficiently and devastatingly. Yes, devastatingly because in Sabah we pay higher electricity rates and need to keep replacing or repairing our electrical appliance due to the everyday blackouts.

Datuk Seri Samy Vellu, if I remember correctly had openly stated that in Sabah we pay higher rates due to the terrain, capacity requirements and maintenance cost. He said this when he was Minister of Works and Utilities.

Today we hear the same tune. The singers may have changed buy not eh song. Almost every week there are complaints about the electricity cuts and shortages. Mind you, the same sentiments were expressed in the 80s when Halik Zaman was the Chairman of SESB. Some 30 years later we are still faced with this perennial problem.

Opposition parties are urging consumers to sue the SESB and who can blame them? It is not the Management of SESB who has to face the Rakyat. It is the elected representatives and aspiring politicians that have to do so on a daily basis and more often than not, these politicians become nothing more than a punching bag. For that reason, I would never want to be a politician. More so in Sandakan.

In the first place, I already look like a punching bag. Secondly, I would know from the bottom of my heart that the best I could do, is NOTHING. That’s the truth. Only the SESB and the Federal Government can resolve this problem, one way or the other.

No matter what argument are put forward, no matter what problems are encountered, no matter what politicians say and no matter what promises are made, they don’t mean a thing to me.

I am fed up of reaching out for sand paper instead of toilet paper in the dark.

C.P. Kui

Publised on 31st Aug 2009 Daily Express Forum .

Popularity: 3% [?]

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 31 (Bernama) — Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman today reiterated the government’s assurance to resolve the frequent power disruption in the east coast of the state, and said one consideration was constructing a thermal power plant in Tawau.

Musa, when asked to comment on Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Datuk Liew Vui Keong’s statement that the electricity problem was a political time bomb, said: "We are looking into it. I’ve asked Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to look into it as soon as possible. They are trying their best.

The state government has been constantly reassuring the people, especially in the east coast, that it was doing its best to overcome the power problem, which has troubled the community for many years.

But finding a solution is not easy as, for example, a proposed coal-fired plant in the east coast was opposed by local leaders and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on environmental grounds.

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Tawau: Sabah DAP has begun its move to rally support from the public here to sue the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) over the failure to provide necessary service to the people in the district and in the State.

Its Sri Tanjong Assemblyman Jimmy Wong, together with Kota Kinabalu MP Dr Hiew King Cheu, presented their views and reasons for filing the legal suit against SESB.

Also in the gathering held at a hotel here on Sunday were representatives from Parti Keadilan Rakyat and PAS led by Haji Mohd Abdullah.

Wong, in his presentation, stated that they were demanding SESB follow the standard regulation of any power supply company by generating additional 25 per cent of electricity than needed to overcome the current shortage.

“The current need of the State is around 800 megawatts and we want them to generate 25 per cent more to cater for any failure in power supply,” he said.

He explained that the current use of 800 megawatts does not include the

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Sabah’s power monopoly, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), has warned that there is “no quick fix to the state’s long-standing power woes” even though current needs are fairly modest at an average 730 MW.
The public utility, 80 per cent owned by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), finally broke its silence amidst threats of demonstrations and legal suits from long-suffering consumers claiming compensation for endless load-shedding, power rationing, black-outs and power-shortages.
SESB Managing Director Baharin Din puts the immediate blame for the critical power situation on an IPP (Independent Power Producer) whose ARL Power Station experienced serious plant malfunction.

“Power supply generation is a shared responsibility in terms of installed capacity,” disclosed Baharin. “SESB is responsible for 45 per cent or 467 MW and the IPPs 55 per cent or 581 MW.”
Baharin was following up on a special closed door briefing session for MPs and state assemblypersons on Tuesday, organised by TNB and SESB chairman Leo Moggie, at the Le Meridien in Kota Kinabalu.
Also present was TNB CEO Che Khalib Mohd Noh, Deputy Chief Minister Peter Pang and Federal Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Environment Joseph Kurup.
It is not known what Moggie told the meeting but speculation is rife that he was trying to secretly push for the unpopular coal option in Sandakan, Lahad Datu or Tawau.
Elsewhere, Baharin admitted that aging machines and the failure of major projects to either take off or take off in time as among the major problems that SESB faces.

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