SANDAKAN – As the government revives the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) project, which aims to distribute gas from the Kimanis district in the state’s west coast to the east coast districts of Sandakan and Tawau, a more important question is being raised – do the east coast districts need it?
The RM4 billion pipeline was slated to supply gas to Sandakan and Tawau, which would then be generated into electricity supply to districts in the area.
Currently, the electricity supply in Sabah’s east coast districts is generated from major power generators in the west coast.
About 10 years ago, people in Sandakan would not be too upset whenever there is a power cut as it happened so often – about once every two weeks. At that time, they had practically adapted to the situation.
For instance, in January 2014, when there was a problem with power generators in Sabah, the whole state was without power for a whole day.
The media reported the challenges faced by the people on that day, but there was an obvious difference between the people in Kota Kinabalu and those in Sandakan.
While Kota Kinabalu citizens struggled during that day, with shops closed and major traffic jams reported due to traffic lights that were not functioning, Sandakan folk about their daily lives as usual and with minimal complaints – they had grown used to it.
Also, many shops and even houses in Sandakan had a portable generator.
But the situation changed after the Kimanis power plant became fully operational in 2014.
A source from Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd told The Vibes that Sabah has sufficient power reserve margin, which means that the whole state has had enough power supply since the Kimanis power plant started operating.
“We also have future plans to increase the power supply in Sabah, such as the project to source power supply from Lawas, Sarawak to Mengalong, Sipitang, in Sabah.
“We also have to consider the pandemic, which caused many industrial consumers to stop using energy or have slowed down.
“This means that there will not be any drastic increase in power consumption, especially in Sabah’s east coast,” the source said.
The source added that power disruption faced by the people in Sabah now is due to technical problems at the distribution level, from small sub-stations to houses, and not because of insufficient power supply from stations in the state.
Several locals in Sandakan and Tawau told The Vibes that, unlike seven years ago, power disruption now only occur about once every three months, and only a small area, such as one particular residential area, is affected.
However, it is still a fact that east coast districts, particularly larger districts such as Sandakan and Tawau, are sourcing electricity from the west coast.
Political intervention
TSGP was cancelled by the Pakatan Harapan-led government in 2018 as it raised several issues regarding the project.
The project, which was initiated in 2016 under the Barisan Nasional-led government, aimed to distribute gas supply through a 662km gas pipeline.
However, PH put a stop to the project following an issue: the previous BN-led government paid China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau the project costs way ahead of its progress.
PH at the time revealed that TSGP and another project, the Multi-Product Pipeline (MPP) aimed at connecting petrochemical projects in Melaka and Negri Sembilan to Kedah, were only 13% completed, but the government had paid 88% of the total project costs – RM8.3 billion paid out of RM9.4 billion.
Last Thursday, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz had revealed in a written reply to Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin that the Perikatan Nasional-led government had in February decided to continue with TSGP.
Chan was the first to highlight the issue after learning the project is back on track, following the finance minister’s revelation.
At a press conference yesterday, Chan, who is also Sabah DAP secretary, urged the government to be transparent about the project.
“It is against a simple logic – when we build a house, we will pay based on its progress. Why did Malaysia pay so much when the project is not even half done?
“We paid first but the work was done later. If the money has been paid, how then should the federal and state governments monitor the progress of the project? We need to know these details,” he said.
He also questioned if the Sabah government was informed of the continuation of the project as the state government has yet to comment on the development. – The Vibes, October 24, 2021
