Statement by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang

Penang State Exco and State Assembly should convene emergency meetings to work out a strategy to demand that Tenaga Nasional pay at least a full month rebate as ex gratia compensation for the 10-day Penang Island blackout last year

Penang State Exco and State Assembly should convene emergency meetings to work out a strategy to demand that Tenaga Nasional pay at least a full month rebate as ex gratia compensation to Penang industries, business and users for the 10-day Penang Island blackout last year.

With the precedent of the RM70 million pay-out representing 10 per cent rebate of a month’s electricity bill, to be paid in two months at 5% each, as ex gratia payment by Tenaga Nasional for the 17-hour nation-wide power blackout on August 3, the Penang Island users have a very strong and powerful case for a similar payment by Tenaga for the 10-day power blackout last year.

It is most disappointing that the Penang State Government does not seem to be able to make any headway to effectively represent the Penang Island users to demand some form of justice from Tenaga Nasional for the 10-day power blackout last year.

The Penang State Assembly had passed a resolution last year urging Tenaga Nasional to pay ex-gratia compensation to consumers for the 10-day power blackout, but the Penang State Assembly seems to be a mere “toothless tiger” which is not even respected by Tenaga Nasional.

Tenaga Nasional’s announcements of various development projects to assure uninterrupted and steady supply of electricity to Penang in future is a completely different issue from the great losses which it had caused to Penang Island industries, businesses and consumers in June last year - which had been computed to be as high as RM1 billion!

As a responsible and efficient national utility company which enjoys monopoly in the supply of electricity, it is the duty of the Tenaga Nasional to undertake all necessary development projects to ensure that it could meet the increasing energy needs of Penang - and there is no need for Penang or anyone to thank Tenaga Nasional for doing what is its mandated responsibility to do.

Tenaga’s power development projects in Penang have therefore nothing to do with the issue of compensation to the Penang Island users for the losses caused by Tenaga Nasional as a result of the 10-day power blackout.

There is a feeling that after the landslide victory of the Barisan Nasional in Penang in the 1995 general elections, where the DAP is reduced to only one Assembly seat, the Penang State Government had lost its previous clout to get the Federal Government and the Cabinet to be more sensitive to the demands of the people of Penang.

If the ten-day power blackout had happened in the previous State Assembly, where the DAP had 13 state assembly seats, the Cabinet would have been more responsive to the outrage of the people of Penang over the 10-day power blackout and Tenaga Nasional would have been required to make ex gratia payment probably within six months.

However, 15 months have passed since the 10-day power blackout in June last year and there are no signs that the Cabinet is sympathetic to the demand that Tenaga Nasional pay ex gratia compensation for the Penang Island consumers.

(18/10/96)