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Five sen up or 16.9 pct increase in electricity tariff for <b>Sabah</b> and <b>...</b> Berita Sabah - News 2 Sabah

Five sen up or 16.9 pct increase in electricity tariff for <b>Sabah</b> and <b>...</b>

Posted: 02 Dec 2013 12:00 PM PST

KOTA KINABALU: Effective Jan 1, 2014, electricity tariff in Sabah and Labuan FT will be increased by five sen/kWh from 29.52 sen/kWh to 34.52sen/kWh.

"This is a 16.9 per cent increase from the current rate," Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said yesterday.

Maximus said after taking into consideration the need to rationalise energy subsidies and to improve the weaknesses in the current tariff structure, the government decided to review the electricity tariff in Sabah and Labuan FT.

He added that the restructuring of the electricity tariff was aimed at reflecting the true cost of electricity supply to consumers and at the same time to also enable SESB to increase investments that would improve the infrastructure in order to provide better and more reliable electricity supply in Sabah and Labuan.

Maximus in a live conferencing with SESB staff and the media here yesterday said: "The government has approved the restructuring of electricity tariff for Sabah and Labuan effective Jan 1, 2014. The restructuring of the tariff is required to close the increasing gap between generation costs and current tariff rates so that Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) is able to continue a reliable supply of electricity in Sabah and Labuan.

"In determining the new electricity tariff, the government has taken into consideration the needs of consumers by introducing several special initiatives and exemptions. This includes no increase in the electricity bills of domestic consumers who use 300kWh/month and below. This covers 62 per cent or more than 260,000 domestic consumers from the total 418,000 domestic consumers in Sabah and WP Labuan," he said.

He added that the introduction of attractive peak/off-peak tariffs and Off-Peak Rider/Sunday Tariff Rider was to encourage Demand Side Management (DSM) activities and pointed out that new and existing Commercial and Medium-Voltage Industrial consumers could benefit from DSM by shifting their operations to off-peak hours or Sundays, which would potentially reduce their electricity bills.

Maximus said a discount of up to 50 per cent for Consumer Connection Charge (CCC) will be given to all new lines for commercial consumers to reduce their initial start-up costs while penalties for the Connected Load Charge were limited to five years with an exemption given for the first year.

According to him water and sewerage operators would qualify for the tariff rate under the Industrial Tariff category and special packages of 10 per cent discount for registered welfare institutions, officially-designated religious premises, higher learning institutions that were partially or fully funded by the government, as well as missionary and private schools, would continue.

"Domestic consumers who use RM20 and below will continue to be exempted from paying their electricity bills through government rebates. This will benefit approximately 70,000 consumers in Sabah and Labuan," he said.

He explained that the current average electricity tariff was implemented on July 15 2011, when the average tariff was increased by 15 per cent from 25.50 sen/kWh to 29.52 sen/kWh.

Prior to the review in 2011, the tariff rate had remained unchanged for 25 years since 1986.

However, the tariff review in 2011 was only able to cover 80 per cent of SESB's operation costs.

SESB's true cost of electricity generation is 43.46 sen/kWh.

Taking into account the current fuel subsidy of 12.35 sen/kWh, SESB still absorbs 1.59 sen/kWh for each unit of electricity sold to consumers.

However, the current state of electricity supply in Sabah and Labuan has improved compared to previous years, he pointed out adding that this was due to the federal government's efforts to provide allocations for the improvement of electricity supply in Sabah and Labuan.

This, Maximus said, could be seen in the reduction of the System Average Interruption Duration Index (Saidi), which is an index that measures the duration of electricity interruption experienced by a consumer in a year.

In 2009, Saidi in Sabah was 2,867 minutes/customer, and with concerted efforts taken by the government and SESB, the Saidi was reduced to 687 minutes/consumer in 2010 and 557 minutes/consumer in 2012, he said.

Through ongoing efforts and assistance by the government, it is targeted that Saidi will improve this year to less than 450 minutes/consumer/year.

According to Maximus, the encouraging performance of Saidi was the result of investments by the government to strengthen all segments of the electricity supply industry, which includes the generation, transmission and distribution sectors.

Therefore, the restructuring of the tariff is necessary to enable SESB to continue providing reliable and sufficient electricity supply with support from the federal government, he said, and disclosed that from the 8th to the 10th Malaysia Plan, the federal government had allocated RM3.352 billion in the form of grants and soft loans to develop the electricity infrastructure in Sabah and Labuan.

Maximus said fuel for electricity generation in Sabah currently depended on diesel and medium fuel oil (MFO).

"The global market price for these fuels has reached approximately US$110 per gallon compared to US$20 per gallon in the 1980s. This has resulted in an increasing gap between generation costs and the revenue from electricity sales.

"The difference between the market price of fuels and the price paid by SESB has been borne by the federal government. The total cost of fuel subsidies given by the federal government to SESB from 2005 to October 2013 amounted to RM4.617 billion. In addition, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) has also channelled RM1.8 billion worth of financial assistance to SESB since 1998," he said.

Maximus added that in order to enhance the promotion of Renewable Energy (RE) in Sabah's electricity generation, the collection for the RE fund for the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) fund would be introduced at a rate of 1.6 per cent of the monthly bill effective Jan 1, 2014.

However, domestic consumers who used 300kWh and below would be exempted from having to contribute to the FiT fund, he said.

"Considering SESB's challenging financial situation, the government will continue to give SESB exemptions on sales tax, import duties for capital goods, equipment, machinery as well as replacement parts for the development and maintenance of the electricity supply system," he stressed.

"Federal government assistance is still needed to help SESB carry out new infrastructural projects, including the Southern Link Transmission Line as well as other critical transmission projects from 2014 to 2016.

"Towards this end, the federal government has agreed to allocate RM1.812 billion in grants to implement the said critical projects. Besides that, the government has also allocated RM230.6 million during the period 2013-2014 to finance projects aimed at improving Saidi throughout Sabah.

"The government will continue to provide the fuel subsidy to the tune of RM570 million in 2014. Out of this, RM155 million/year is attributed to domestic consumers in the 0-300kWh/month category.

"The subsidy of 33.09 sen/kWh will be maintained for domestic consumers under the 0-200kWh/month category, equivalent to 186 per cent of the average tariff for that consumer category.

Likewise, the government will also provide a subsidy of 30.04 sen/kWh or 144 per cent of the average tariff to domestic consumers in the 201-300kWh/month bracket.

Maximus added that with this approved restructuring of the electricity tariff, the government hoped that SESB would continue efforts to improve the quality of electricity supply.

"At the same time, the government hopes consumers will use electricity wisely and adopt energy efficient practices in their daily lives. This is in keeping with the nation's policy of encouraging sustainable and efficient electricity usage," he said.

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Seizure of The Herald in <b>Sabah</b> a mistake - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 28 Oct 2013 10:24 AM PDT

by Geryl Ogilvy Ruekeith, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on October 29, 2013, Tuesday

KUCHING: The seizure of 2,000 copies of the Catholic weekly The Herald at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) should not have happened, says Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Senator Datuk Seri Idris Jala.

This was because prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had made it very clear that ruling by the Court of Appeal that non-Muslims could not use the word 'Allah' did not cover Sarawak and Sabah, he added.

"I believe that there has been a misunderstanding.

"They should not have withheld the distribution of The Herald in Sabah because the prime minister has made it very clear that the publication can continue in Sabah and Sarawak," Idris told reporters when met at Pullman Hotel here yesterday.

He was responding to a question on whether the seizure of the paper could affect the Barisan Nasional government's image the two states.

Earlier, Idris presented his paper at the start of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (Capam) Regional Forum.

Apparently the order to stop the distribution of the paper in Sabah was instructed by the Home Ministry but Putrajaya has lifted the ban on the distribution of The Herald on Sunday.

An online media report yesterday quoted the weekly's editor and Catholic priest Fr Lawrence Andrew as saying no reason for the initial ban had been given.

According to Andrew, the consignment arrived at 2.54 pm on Thursday and was checked by Home Ministry officials, as was the usual practice. The forwarding company was then told not to release the consignment.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup has also commented on the incident, stating the confiscation of The Herald by the Home Ministry was likely due to "miscommunication".

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Pocket map for visitors in <b>Sabah</b> - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 24 Oct 2013 05:10 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: 'My Navigator – Street Mapping' will soon be made available and will serve as a pocket info for travellers and tourists visiting Sabah.

According to Sabah Hotel Association (SHA) president Christopher Chan, the pocket map would be a perfect guide for all travellers, backpackers, tourists who were arriving in Sabah as it provides them with the latest information of eateries, tourist destinations, accommodation and many other touristic attractions in Sabah.

The pocket map will be made available at hotels, motels, eateries, ferry terminals, cafes and so on. They will also be made available to guests travelling on the Star Cruises ships.

Chan added that SHA is fully supportive of the product as it is a helpful tool for tourists while at the same time provides assistance to small operators, outlets and hotels to promote their establishments and services to their prospective clients.

Also present at the event yesterday were East Malaysia Star Cruises marketing manager Vincte Lim and the organising chairman and director of Public Media Group, Darren Yong.

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35 holiday packages to boost <b>Sabah</b> tourism - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 02:39 PM PDT

by Sandra Sokial. Posted on October 10, 2013, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah tourism industry will be further boosted with the launch of the Sabah – Best of Borneo Holiday Packages, yesterday.

A combination of 35 holiday packages under 14 themes, it is the first of its kind in Malaysia, which was created by 17 tour operators to cater to every interest and all age groups.

Ranging from day-trips to four-days/three-nights tour, all packages are inclusive of accommodation, meals and guided tour.

Tourism Malaysia deputy chairperson Senator Datuk Maznah Mazlan, when launching the tour packages, believed that it would help ensure the country's tourism would continue to prosper.

"The tourism industry not only contributes to the national Growth Domestic Product (GDP) but also inculcates the spirit of patriotism, as well as strengthens the racial unity among the public," she said, adding that Malaysia was the 10th most visited country in the world in 2012.

She added that it was important to observe the caring capacity as for some destinations, it could only take a certain number of people due to its facility or fragility of the environment.

Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said the issue was also something that was being looked into seriously by the state government and discussion had been done on the matter.

"The state government is taking the necessary action so that there is a balance to it… we are very concerned on this," he said.

Meanwhile, Maznah said under the Economic Transformation Plan, they were asked to think outside the box by applying the Blue Ocean Strategy.

"So that means we have to be creative when coming up with new tour packages," she said.

For over a decade, Sabah has been enjoying a double-digit growth annually and that the state's total tourist arrivals have increased five-folds from about 500,000 in 2000 to over 2.5 million in 2010.

Last year, tourist arrivals to Sabah reached 2.87 million of which 65 per cent domestic and the rest international, contributing RM5.1 billion to Sabah's economy.

The tourism growth continued this year where the first seven months, a total of 1,838,295 tourists visited the state, which signified an increase of 13.5 per cent, compared to the same period last year.

This year the state is targeting 3.01 million tourist arrivals and RM5.4 billion in receipts.

The newly launched holiday packages come in time as Malaysia will be celebrating its fourth Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) next year.

It is set to promote the country internationally and highlight various pro-active initiatives by the Tourism Ministry and Tourism Malaysia.

Many fascinating events and festivals have been lined up throughout the year; where some of the major events will take place in Sabah such as the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon, Kudat Sunset Music Festival, Sabah Fest and the Paragliding Accuracy World Cup.

On the holiday packages, it is well prepared to suit the people's interest, such as for those who love cooking, they may opt for the Let's Main Masak-Masak with Hajah Limah tour package to learn Malaysian dishes using local ingredients and herbs, or the Mystical Land Below The Wind in search of the supernatural belief, ancient rites and spiritual realm.

For the photography and nature enthusiasts, A Journey Thru My Lens package suits them well as they would get up close with the abundant and exotic wildlife in Kinabatangan such as the endangered Borneon Pygmy elephants and Proboscis Monkeys.

These tour packages will be promoted through websites, online social media, email blasts and brochures at Tourism Malaysia state and overseas offices.

Also present was MATTA vice-president (Inbound) K L Tan.

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24/2013: Syarikat Media Cetak <b>Sabah</b> Disaran Buka Biro Di <b>...</b>

Posted: 24 Nov 2013 02:24 AM PST

Posted on 24 November 2013

KOTA KINABALU, 24 Nov (Bernama) — Syarikat media cetak di Sabah disaran menubuhkan biro masing-masing di Semenanjung bagi meningkatkan peranan terhadap pembangunan dan kemajuan negeri ini.

Menteri Kesejahteraan Bandar, Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan berkata agensi media atau akhbar perlu melakukan transformasi bagi memastikan isu berkaitan Sabah dilaporkan mengikut perspektif negeri ini.

"Media Sabah tidak harus bergantung sokongan kepada sumber berita sedia ada seperti Pertubuhan Berita Nasional Malaysia (Bernama), mereka perlu ada wakil mereka sendiri dalam perspektif Sabah.

"Di Semenanjung kita perlukan akhbar tempatan seperti Daily Ekspress, Utusan Borneo dan New Sabah Times untuk menempatkan wartawan di Dewan Rakyat kerana Bernama tidak mampu mengulas isu-isu yang dibangkitkan oleh semua ahli Parlimen dari Sabah," katanya pada Majlis Penghargaan Media anjuran kementeriannya, di sini Sabtu malam.

Dalam pada itu, Abdul Rahman yang juga anggota Parlimen Kota Belud berkata kementerian menghargai sumbangan dan peranan dimainkan media di Sabah yang lebih terbuka dan mampu menganalisis isu lebih adil.

"Akhbar di Sabah telah menyediakan maklumat berguna kepada rakyat Sabah termasuk ketika krisis pencerobohan Lahad Datu dengan memaparkan berita sahih tentang pengorbanan anggota keselamatan negara," katanya.

Katanya penyampaian dan penyebaran berita juga perlu dilakukan menerusi laman sosial seperti Facebook atau Twitter.

– BERNAMA

~mfja~

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TKI akan nikah massal Desember di <b>Sabah</b> Malaysia - ANTARA News

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:44 AM PST

Nunukan (ANTARA News) - Ratusan pasangan TKI (tenaga kerja Indonesia) akan menikah secara massal pada Desember 2013 di Tawau, Negeri Bagian Sabah Malaysia.

Konsul Muda Fungsi Protokol dan Konsuler Muhammad Ramdhan di Tawau Senin menerangkan pernikahan massal itu diselenggarakan Konsul RI Tawau bekerja sama dengan Pengadilan Agama Jakarta Pusat .

TKI yang akan dinikahkan itu, lanjut Muhammad, adalah mereka yang telah menikah siri dan belum memiliki surat keterangan nikah secara sah dari pemerintah Indonesia.

"Konsulat (RI) Tawau telah megirim semua data-data diri pasangan TKI yang akan kita nikahkan nanti untuk langsung ditulis ke dalam buku nikah yang akan diberikan usai digelar pernikahan," ujar Muhammad Ramdhan.

Petugas nikah dari Pengadilan Agama Jakarta Pusat yang akan hadir pada pernikahan massal (isbath) tersebut diperkirakan berjumlah 14 orang yang dibagi dalam dua tim.

Muhammad Ramdhan menyebutkan, sesuai hasil verifikasi TKI yang akan dinikahkan itu berasal dari perusahaan perkebunan kelapa sawit Felda Sahabat Lahad Datu, Benta wawasan, dan lain-lainnya dengan jumlah 795 pasangan.

"TKI yang akan dinikahkan nanti sebagian besar berasal dari ladang kelapa sawit Felda Sahabat Lahad Datu," ucap dia.

Waktu pelaksanaan nikah massal itu, dia mengatakan, diperkirakan 3-8 Desember 2013 yang dipusatkan di Kantor Konsulat RI Tawau Jalan Sinn Onn Tawau.