GE15: netizens sneer at blackouts despite TNB’s ‘internal error’ claim

KUALA LUMPUR – Certain areas in the Gombak parliamentary constituency are having power outages amid heavy rainfall this evening.

Netizens on Twitter are wondering if these are underhanded attempts to manipulate voting results in Gombak.

User @ashishakhan said in a posting: “Blackout in Gombak? If that’s true, (I) really hope it’s only because of the storm. Please give residents of Gombak what they actually voted for.”

blackout in gombak? if that’s true really hope it’s only because of the storm. please give residents of gombak what they actually voted for

— Athisha Khan (@ashishakhan) November 19, 2022

User @JustinTWJ stressed that even if the blackout goes on all night, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, who is defending the parliamentary seat in the general election today, would still be unsuccessful in his bid.

Meh, Gombak can blackout the whole night and Azmin is still going to lose...

— not typical. (@JustinTWJ) November 19, 2022

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has confirmed the matter, specifically at the counting centre in Kolej Vokasional Gombak.

However, it claimed that the outage was caused by an internal error.

“TNB supply is good and regular. The outage was caused by internal usage error, and has been verified by the Election Commission (EC),” the national power company said in a statement.

It assured that it will keep an eye on the situation. 

Merujuk video gangguan elektrik di Kolej Vokasional Gombak (SM Teknik, Gombak).

Bekalan TNB disahkan baik & teratur. Ianya berpunca dari kerosakan dalaman di pihak pengguna & disahkan pihak SPR. pic.twitter.com/SRBsd4L22Q

— Tenaga Nasional (@Tenaga_Nasional) November 19, 2022

Earlier this morning, TNB had similarly said  in a social media posting that a power outage at the SJK(T) Saraswathy polling station in the Lembah Pantai constituency here was due to the internal system there. 

There was no supply disruption to the premise, it stressed 

“TNB will continue to monitor to ensure that electricity supply remains stable throughout the voting process until it is over,” it had said in response to a complaint on the outage by Fahmi Fadzil who was defending the parliamentary seat.

Meanwhile, police denied there was a power trip this morning at the polling station at SJKC Kepong.

Sentul police chief Beh Eng Lai said only a generator at the polling station was damaged.

Meanwhile, the TNB Careline, through a statement on Facebook, said an investigation found that the cause of the incident was due to a wiring problem, and the disruption in the electric supply through the mobile power generators was on the part of the user. – The Vibes, November 19, 2022