DAP questions the slow execution of the Rural Electrification projects in Sabah especially in the interior region.
DAP Pensiangan conducted site visits to villages in Sook after receiving complaints from the residents.
We visited several areas namely Kg Sinua, Mansiat, Sinaron, Dumbun in Mukim Lanas and Kg Sanang, Bonor, Malaing, Kalampun, Molosok in Mukim Dalit.
During the visit DAP confirms that this area have not been electrified, rebutting the claims by Pensiangan Member of Parliament Tan Sri Joseph Kurup that these Areas are already electrified when responding to the points brought by DAP Sabah Chairman, Stephen Wong in Parliament recently.
The affected villagers laments that the project was started since 2007 before the 12th General Elections when contractors started to erect the electrical poles.
During the elections campaign, BN promised that the project will be completed soon, but when the elections were over, the contractors went away.
Then in 2012 before the 13th General elections, the contractors came back and started to install the cables and transformers, the same thing happened before as soon as the elections were over, the project went cold again.
The BN government is using this project as a trick to hold the villagers on ransom to force them to vote for BN.
The villagers told us that the BN candidates mentioned in their campaign if they Vote BN, there will be electricity but what happen after they won? Nothing happens.
Just recently DAP Pensiangan produced a short video clip of interviews with villagers in Kg Sinaron, one of the affected village. Then suddenly there is some breath of life to the project when SESB starts to install the service line to houses and tested the distribution system for the first time.
But this was not welcomed very well by many villagers because many cannot afford to pay for contractors to do the house wiring and install the energy meters.
According to DAP Tulid Coordinator, Robinson Rusikan, he visited many families that are still not connected to the grid line. Many cannot afford to pay for the electrical poles and cables. The power in his area in Sinaron and Sinua is aslo not stable. His village experience power cuts many times.
Meanwhile a posting by DAP Pensiangan on Facebook on 18th December regarding this issue went viral, in less than 24 hours the villagers in Kg Molosok Dalit reported that SESB and their contractors came to clean up the transformers that was overgrown with weeds.
When met by DAP Representative, the SESB officer told them that this project has not been handed over to them by KKLW yet.
DAP Sook Coordinator, Clare Taunek demands that the Rural Electrification project is audited by the Auditor General and investigated by the MACC because this projects does not seems to add up.
How can a project by the rural ministry takes so long to complete and handed over? Any of the contractor penalised for the delays? This has to be investigated.
Statistically the KKLW has spent few billions on Bekalan Elektik Luar Bandar (BELB) over two Malaysia plans, but when will the people benefit from this spending? After the Sabah Water Scandal under the Bekalan Air Luar Bandar (BALB) this is clearly another bad governance of the BN Government on rural development projects.