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Esscom D-G: No attempt by Abu Sayyaf, MNLF groups to intrude into <b>...</b> Berita Sabah - News 2 Sabah

Esscom D-G: No attempt by Abu Sayyaf, MNLF groups to intrude into <b>...</b>

Posted: 17 Dec 2013 09:35 AM PST

LAHAD DATU: Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) director-general Datuk Mohammad Mentek said there has been no attempt by members of the Abu Sayyaf group or the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)to penetrate into the coastal areas of eastern Sabah.

He said that the security situation in the area, also known as the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE), was safe and under control.

The zone encompasses 10 districts involving 1,733.7 kilometres from Kudat to Tawau. The districts are Kudat, Kota Marudu, Pitas, Beluran, Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna, and Tawau.

As such, Mohammad called on the people to be calm and not believe rumours that could make matters worse.

"Based on intelligence obtained by Esscom, there has been no attempt to enter the area by the Abu Sayaf group or the MNLF as claimed. As such, I wish to advise the people not to panic and refrain from spreading unfounded information including through the social media," he said in a statement, here yesterday.

On Monday, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar was quoted as saying that the security forces in the coastal areas of eastern Sabah were in a state of preparedness to face any eventuality, including the threat of any attack by foreigners.

Khalid disclosed this to reporters in Kuala Lumpur when asked on the claim that several militant groups including the Abu Sayyaf and MNLF wanted to attack three areas namely Pulau Selingan (Sandakan), Pulau Langkayan (Beluran) and Sukau Resort (Kinabatangan), tomorrow and on Christmas Day.

Mohammad said security measures in ESSZONE were being tightened including raising the number of patrols by the various defence and security agencies including the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the Marine Operations Force (MOF).

In addition, Mohammad said ESSCOM, which is responsible for coordinating all the defence and security agencies in ESSZONE, had created and deployed the Quick Response Force in several strategic areas to cut off any attempt to enter Malaysian waters.

"We have utilised our defence and security assets such as aeroplanes and helicopters to strengthen security control in our maritime areas," he said.

In this regard, Mohammad warned those trying to collaborate with the enemy, including by giving information to the groups wishing to infiltrate into the country to refrain from doing so because stern action would be taken against those involved. — Bernama

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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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<b>Sabah</b> can be &#39;next Dubai&#39; – Musa - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 27 Nov 2013 10:07 AM PST

Datuk Teo Chee Kang (centre) together with SUCCC president Datuk Seri Panglima Gan Sau Wah (seventh left), SBCC president Datuk Mohd Hasnol Datuk Ayub (fifth right) and other invited guests during the launching of 4th Borneo International Trade Fair 2013 last night.

KOTA KINABALU: The vision to make Sabah the 'next Dubai' is achievable through continued close partnership between the state government and the manufacturing and industrial sectors.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said apart from its strategic location within the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), Sabah also had a composition of positive factors it could bank on in achieving this goal.

This included the availability of petroleum and gas, large oil palm plantations, sawn timber and plywood, and political stability which allows for holistic development plans to be carried out.

Sabah also has qualities that make it one of the favourite tourist spots in the world, and more importantly, the state government is clear about Sabah's potential as a thriving business and trading hub in the region.

"Lest it be said that the state only provides lip service to the proposed vision of Sabah being the next Dubai, I reiterate the state's commitment to this goal by sharing with you that the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) launched in 2008 is working out well.

"SDC leverages on key areas such as agriculture, tourism and manufacturing, and is working out well under the driving force of the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA), which is tasked with the primary responsibility of planning, coordinating, promoting and accelerating the development of SDC," he said.

Musa said this in his officiating speech at the launching dinner of Borneo International Trade Fair (BITF) 2013 here last night.

The text of his speech was read by Special Tasks Minister Datuk Teo Chee Kang, who also officiated at the dinner on his behalf.

Musa said the support given by the government to the latest effort carried out by the Federation of Sabah Industries (FSI) in promoting Sabah in the context of the manufacturing sector to turn the state into a hub for the Far East was also a testament to its commitment to make Sabah the next Dubai.

Musa, who is also Finance Minister, also noted that RM1.2 billion from the RM3.024 billion allocated to the state by the federal government under the 10th Malaysia Plan has been used as of September.

A total of RM503.3 million from the RM1.05 billion approved state funding has been spent while RM1.313 billion from the RM1.541 billion funds allocated to the SDC authority SEDIA have been disbursed.

Furthermore, SDC has reached RM116 billion total committed investments since its launch almost six years ago, he added.

Touching on BITF, he said the popular biennial trade event had drawn much interest and unprecedented success in business transactions since its inception in 2007.

He said the event provided the perfect stage for the state to promote its products and services at the international level, and to push local businesses to reach beyond borders in terms of marketing their products and services or to be exposed to various opportunities that were otherwise not available locally.

Stressing that BITF and other trade fair events played an important role towards achieving the next Dubai vision, he urged participants to take the opportunity to exchange ideas, knowledge and information, as well as to take up potential business prospects to be made available through the event.

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<b>Sabah</b> MIC Deepavali open house at Dewan Maksak today <b>...</b>

Posted: 02 Nov 2013 11:13 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU:  Sabah MIC will be holding the State-level Deepavali Open House at Dewan Maksak in Likas today (Nov 3).

Its state liaison chief Datuk V Jothi welcomes the public to celebrate the Festival of Lights and enjoy the authentic Indian cuisines at the open house which begins from  10am to 2pm.

Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin and wife Toh Puan Norlidah R M Jasni as well as Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and the Sabah Cabinet ministers are also expected to attend the event.

Met after attending a special Deepavali prayer at the Sri Pasupathinath Alayam Temple in Bukit Padang, near here, yesterday, Jothi said the Indians in Sabah live in peace and harmony with other communities.

"We pray for better prosperity, peace and harmony for the state and nation. The Indians in Sabah are able to live with the community and it brings truth to the saying, unity in harmony.

"Sabah is a multi-cultural state and the spirit of togetherness has been there for ages," he said.

He added that the people in Sabah respect one another, and that they would join the other communities in their celebration.

"Just last month, we had the Hari Raya Aidiladha and we visited open houses held by our Muslim friends, and I believe they would also do the same during the Deepavali and other festivities," he said.

About 600 Hindu devotees attended the special prayer at the Temple.

Also present was the Kota Kinabalu Hindu Temple Association president, Datuk Dr K Mathavan.

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