DAP Member of Parliament for Bandar Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, today issued the following statement:
Call on the “Minister of Power and Works, Dato Abdul Ghani Gilong, to reduce the electricity tariffs for the people of Triang to lighten their hardships
I have received a petition signed by some 200 residents of Triang protesting against the increase in the electricity rates from 31 cents to 35 cents a unit.
What the residents of Triang are particularly furious and unhappy about is that the increase in the electricity tariffs was effective from the month of April although notice of the increase of electricity tariffs was given to the consumers only on 2nd May 1974 by the private contractor responsible for the electricity supply to Triang.
The residents would also like to know whether the Ministry of Power and Works has given approval to the private contactor, Sharikat Letrik Triang, permission to increase the electricity rates, and if so, why the electricity rates rose so steeply by four cents a unit.
The residents of Triang who have signed the joint petition have asked the LIN to directly supply electricity to the people of Triang, and I hope the Minister concerned, Dato Ganie Gilong, would look into this request of theirs, and their complaints about the steep rise in the electricity tariffs.
The increase in electricity tariffs is bound to add to the hardships of the poor and the low-income groups, and this defeats the government’s objective to bring electrification to the rural folks and the poor, if they are beyond their monetary capability to enjoy the amenity.