No reason to revise electricity tariff in Sabah

(Sources: SAPP official website)


By Melanie Chia

Electricity supplies is a utility, which in most countries, is the responsibility of the government. It is a necessity in this modern day society. The government of the day therefore cannot devolve itself of this responsibility, be it to ensure adequate and consistent supply or to ensure the affordability of this utility.

The just revised electrify tariff by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) starting on 1 June is only the beginning to further burden of rising costs to the people in the country. This would be so despite warning by the government authorities to the business communities that prices cannot be increased indiscriminately.

It is understood that where electricity is a component to the production costs, the rising of the electricity tariff inevitably increased the cost of production and therefore the costs of goods. It has also been reported that even hawkers in West Malaysia may consider price increase because of the increased burden of the utility to their income!

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Set up oil refinery in Sabah

by Murib Morpi. Posted on May 14, 2011, Saturday

KOTA KINABALU: An oil refinery is needed in Sabah for the State to truly benefit from the operation of the soon-to-be developed Sabah oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) in Kimanis, said Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

PBS vice president Datuk Herbert Timbun Lagadan said Sabah through the Federal Government, should request Petronas to build such a facility in the State, to allow the huge potentials created by the industry to be fully tapped by local companies and the people.

Lagadan when making the call yesterday, said as a ‘fixed deposit’ state, Sabah has the merit to ask for the refinery plant to be set up here for processing oil and gas extracted from its own soil.

In addition, the State should be equipped with an oil refinery based on the fact that it is a major oil producer of the country, he added.

“Why can’t Sabah have its own oil refinery when Sarawak has its own? Since Sabah is a fixed deposit state for the BN government and a major oil producer of oil and gas, then surely we possess the merit to ask for the facility to be built here,” he said.

According to him, Sabahans find it hard to swallow the reasons given by the central government that gas from the State is be siphoned to the terminal in Bintulu, Sarawak to save cost.

He said the decision not to allow Sabah to have its own oil refinery could be viewed as an attempt to sideline Sabahans from participating in the mega oil and gas industry, by piping the State’s natural resources out to another state.

The lack of opportunities in the State for the people to directly and actively participate in the development of the oil and gas industry has been the source of discontent among local leaders in Sabah, both from within BN and the opposition alike.

Apart from PBS, United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) was also unhappy with the Federal Government’s decision to give Petronas the go-ahead to build the gas pipeline to send gas to Bintulu.

The party’s president, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, had said that Sabahans have been dispirited by the current situation where the SOGT project was seen as not beneficial to Sabahans except for the landowners involved.

He pointed out that although Sabah is an oil and gas producing state, there is no related activity whatsoever to suggest that. There is no refinery, no university and no petro-chemical or other related industries in the State.

Dissatisfaction has brewed up from among State Umno leaders too, with Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman taking Petronas to task on the poor participation from among local companies in the State’s oil and gas industry.

The Kimanis member of parliament firmly told Petronas to ensure more locals could benefit from the industry or their presence in the State shall be limited and controlled.

Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) had also joined the chorous, rejecting the idea of piping gas from Kimanis to Bintulu as ‘ironic and unnecessary’.

Its president, former chief minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee, said the State should not send gas to Sarawak only to buy it back for fuelling the power plants needed to address its electricity woes.

Natural gas to be landed at Kimanis will be piped through a RM1.6 billion 500km pipeline to Petronas’s LNG complex in Bintulu.

The complex, with a production capacity of 25 million tonnes per annum, is one of the biggest of its kind in the world and exports LNG to three lucrative markets, namely Japan, South Korea and China.

With Sabah in need of the product to run its power plants, there were concern that the State may have to compete with these international buyers, who are able to offer much higher prices.


(News sources:The Borneo Post)

Link:http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=130325

MP calls for liberalisation of market for sugar

Posted on May 13, 2011, Friday

TAWAU: Member of parliament Datuk Chua Soon Bui has called for a liberalisation of the market for sugar in order to create a healthy competition and to reduce government subsidy on the commodity.

She said the recent hike in the price of suger has put the country’s sugar price on par with Thailand although Thailand does not subsidise as much as Malaysia does.

The subsidy for sugar borne by the Malaysian government is about RM166 million per year.

“Comparison on the price of sugar with those of the neigbouring countries, we are now on equal par with Thailand at RM2.30 per kg but apparently Thailand does not subsidise as much as Malaysia does.

“I urge the government to explain to the people why Malaysia is subsidising so much on sugar as compared to Thailand based on the market sale price of RM2.30 per kg,” she said.

Chua said it was time for the government to consider opening up the sugar market in the country to a few more companies rather than it being monopolised by one company.

“The competition will be a healthier way to reduce government spending on subsidy for the consumers,” she said yesterday.

Chua said she was surprised by the recent hike in the price of sugar by another 20 sen per kilogram.

The last increase of 20 sen per kilogram was made in December last year meaning that the price of sugar had increased by 40 sen per kilogram or equivalent to 20 per cent increase within a period of six months.

“With the 10 per cent increase this time, it will have a snowball effect on sugar-related value-added products like drinks and food.

“Many of these consumer products are not price controlled. It is important for the ministry to monitor the market prices of the sugar-related products because of the newly implemented anti-profiteering bills so that consumers are spared the brunt of government policies,” she said.

She also added that the government must seek a balanced policy to ensure that the people are not burdened by the increase in the prices of any commodity.

(News sources:The Borneo Post )

Link:http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=129884