SANDAKAN – Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor lost his cool during the Sabah assembly sitting today when Sri Tanjong assemblyman Justin Wong accused him of being a “yes man” to the federal government.
“Sri Tanjong only knows how to talk… don’t talk nonsense here! Don’t talk about politics here and make accusations against Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
“Is GRS considered a failed government only because of this? What kind of people’s representative are you? You seem to be inciting people,” he said, angered by Wong’s persistent characterisation of GRS as a failed government.
The GRS chairman, who is also Sulaman assemblyman, said this as he intercepted Wong’s debate speech during the special assembly sitting in Kota Kinabalu today.
Wong had earlier questioned why the Sabah government did not object to the electricity tariff increase announced by Tenaga Nasional Bhd, expressing his anger and disappointment with the GRS government over the issue.
Wong alleged that the Sabah government, by keeping mum on the matter, demonstrated the failure of the GRS-led state government to advocate for the interests of Sabahans.
This incident prompted other assemblymen to stand up and speak against Wong. Kemabong assemblyman Datuk Rubin Balang, in particular, asked Wong to focus on the debate topics, which were the Sabah Energy Commission Enactment 2023 (Amendment 2024) and the Electricity Supply Enactment Bill 2024.
The assemblymen who questioned Wong’s accusations are Datuk Jasnih Daya (Pantai Dalit), Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar (Apas) and Calvin Chong (Elopura).
Wong maintained that it was his turn to speak and did not allow Hajiji and others to interrupt.
He emphasised that he was merely stating facts and not inflating political issues.
Furthermore, he continued to question the increase in the ICPT (Imbalance Cost Pass-Through) surcharge, asserting that an electricity tariff hike in Sabah is unfair, given the still unstable power supply in the state.
In his winding-up speech, Hajiji clarified that 99% of electricity users in Sabah and Labuan would not be affected by any electricity tariff adjustments or ICPT rebates from January 1 to June 30, 2024.
He further explained that the federal government had opted not to impose any ICPT surcharge on customers using under 1,500 units or RM700 of electricity per month, as well as on commercial and small industrial users.
A substantial allocation of RM161.7 million has been earmarked for this subsidy.
Hajiji highlighted that the remaining RM69 million from the increased cost of electricity generation must be imposed on domestic customers using over 1,500 units or larger-scale commercial and industrial users, among others falling into this category.
He clarified that the ICPT was a mechanism approved by the federal government and implemented by the Energy Commission in Sabah from January 1, 2022.
Its mechanism is implemented based on approval decided by the government every six months before imposing the ICPT rebate on users in Sabah and Labuan, he said.
Meanwhile, the special assembly sitting today unanimously passed three bills, namely the Sabah Energy Commission Enactment 2023 (Amendment 2024), the Electricity Supply Enactment Bill 2024 and the Sabah Renewable Energy Enactment Bill 2024.
Hajiji said that it was a historical development for Sabah as it would provide the state with total regulatory control of the energy sector in the state through its Energy Commission. – January 3, 2024