Pole problem for single mum

JOHOR BARU: Every time 43-year-old M. Sandra looks outside her main door, she sees a tall electric pole standing upright in front of her gate.

It has been there since she moved into her single-storey low-cost house in Seri Alam here in 1994.

Letter after letter to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and the authorities to remove or relocate the pole were ignored.

Then, adding insult to injury, a TNB official told her a few months ago that she has to pay about RM10,000 to the utility company for it to relocate the pole.

Sandra, a single mother, said she was stunned.

“The official told me when they came over to my house a few months ago that it would be too expensive and troublesome for them to shift it.

“I told them I could not afford to fork out any money as my husband had passed away and I am the sole breadwinner now in my family,” said the mother of a 13-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter.

She said despite her pleas, the officials insisted that she pay to have the pole moved.

“Because of this huge pole, which TNB itself placed in front of my house, I cannot fully open one side of my gate,” she said, adding that she also could not park her car in the house or put up tents during special occasions.

“Relatives and friends who come visiting always comment on the odd placement of the pole and scold me for not pushing TNB to relocate it,” said Sandra, a flower shop worker.

“I have lodged many complaints, the last one being in May last year.”

She said she attached pictures of the offending pole in her letter and when she followed up on the matter, an official told her that she would have to pay the hefty sum to remove the pole.

Sandra said she feels frustrated and at a loss of what to do, unless some Good Samaritan offers to sort out her pole problem.

When contacted, a TNB official said the company had directed one of its officers in Pasir Gudang to follow up on the case.