KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s electricity tariff hike, which came into force yesterday, is unavoidable but will not be burdensome, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said the state government would closely monitor the impact of the increase but believed the additional cost borne by consumers would be minimal.
“We will continue to monitor the situation, but I believe the effect is only slight.
“If someone currently pays RM100, the increase will only be about RM15.
“So it is not very burdensome. If an additional RM15 ensures a stable electricity supply, that is the rationale behind the tariff hike,” he told reporters after opening the Apas Balung State Religious School at Taman Sawit Balung here yesterday.
Hajiji was responding to questions on the Sabah Electricity tariff review beginning Feb 1, which involves an adjustment of the average base rate from 34.52sen per kWh to 39.70sen per kWh.
He said the state Cabinet had agreed to the proposal submitted by the Energy Commission of Sabah and Sabah Electricity after considering rising operational and power generation costs.
The Chief Minister added that electricity tariffs in Sabah remain relatively low compared with the peninsula and that the state was only implementing a 5sen or 15% increase.
“This is not very burdensome for ordinary citizens, who make up about 70% to 80% of Sabah’s population,” he said.
Hajiji said the hike was unavoidable as the state was bearing high costs across various factors and needed to address these challenges.
He noted that the Federal Government currently provides electricity subsidies for Sabah amounting to about RM700mil annually, or RM3.5bil over five years.
“We cannot continue this indefinitely. A small increase of 5sen can help reduce the subsidies provided by the Federal Government,” he said.
Earlier, during the ceremony, the Chief Minister said he was impressed that the school building was completed within just three months through contributions from various parties.
He said this marked the beginning of the school’s development, with government assistance to follow for future expansion.
Hajiji also praised the school management for adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in line with current educational developments, making it the first religious school to utilise AI.
“This is the era we are moving into, where technology is highly advanced. This applies not only to mainstream schools but also to religious schools,” he said.
He said the state government also supports the school management’s proposal to establish a religious secondary school to ensure continuity in religious education.
Calling it an excellent proposal, Hajiji said religious secondary schools need to be expanded in Sabah, as demand from the Muslim community remains high.
“The planning is very good – secondary schools and, perhaps eventually an Islamic university, and more,” he added.
