by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, March 2, 1993:
DAP calls on Cabinet at its meeting tomorrow to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry and not to allow a cover-up of the real causes of the national energy crisis
DAP calls on the Cabinet at its meeting tomorrow to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry and not to allow a cover-up of the real causes of the national energy crisis.
If the principle of a democratic, responsible, accountable and good government is upheld in Malaysia, then the people are entitled to know the real causes of the national energy crisis, and whether it is caused by:
1. An ‘act of God’;
2. Poor government planning;
3. “Sudden surge of industrial growth”;
4. Gross inefficiency and incompetence of the Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and Posts and TENAGA NASIONAL BHD;
5. Privatisation of TENAGA NASIONAL BHD;
6. Sabotage of the privitisation of TENAGA NASIONAL BHD;
7. Abuses of power, criminal breach of trust and corruption in the award of billions of ringgit of TENAGA NASIONAL BHD contracts; or a combination of these factors.
After the Cabinet meeting on 17th February 1993, the Minister for Energy, Telecommunications and Posts, Datuk Seri S. Samy Velu, attributed the national energy power crisis to “a sudden surge in industrial growth’, which he later developed into an attack on factories and industries for consuming more energy than they originally had asked from TENAGA.
At the post-Cabinet press conference on 17th February, Samy Vellu said that although the installed power-generating capacity was 5,600 megawatts, the actual production was 4,475 MW. “”Since the demand to day is 4,750 MW, there is a shortfall of 95 MW”.
Samy Vellu said the deficit was due to a sudden surge in industrial growth, a reflection of the influx of investments and rapid growth.
Samy Vellu explained: “The industrial demand has gone up tremendously. Our projection before was some eight per cent annual growth in power consumption but due to the rapid industrialisation, the increase is between 13 and 15 per cent.”
From Samy Vellu’s explanation, the public is given the impression that the Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and Posts and TENAGA NASIONAL BHD were ‘caught with their pants down’, as they were completely unprepared for the ‘sudden surge’ in industrial development, and the 13 to 15 per cent growth in power consumption – resulting in the nation-wide blackout on September 29 last year and the national energy crisis this year.
This however is incorrect. The 1990 annual report of the National Electricity Board, prior to its corporatisation, had project¬ed that demand would exceed 4,200 MW in mid-1992 and reach 4,600 MW at the start of 1993.
Furthermore, in May 1991, TENAGA NASIONAL said that demand for its power had been growing 12 to 14 per cent annually. It is unbelievable that Samy Vellu should be saying in February 1993 that, the authorities were unaware of such growth in demand.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, had given a different version from that of Samy Vellu. Dr. Mahathir said that the Government had been aware of the energy problem since 1990, but blamed the national energy crisis on “unfair criticisms” against the Government’s intention to invite the private sector to set up new power stations and personality clashes in the Government.
If Dr. Mahathir is right, then let a Royal Commission of Inquiry inquire into the nature of the “unfair criticisms” and person¬ality clashes in the Government which had created the national energy crisis.
Royal Commission of Inquiry should inquire into seven-month delay in the award of tenders for four 110 MW Gas Turbines – two in Serdang and two in Malacca
The Royal Commission of Inquiry should also inquire into the seven-month delay in the award of tenders for four 110 MW Gas Turbines – two each in Serdang and Malacca – on a full turnkey basis which was advertised in November 1991 in order to meet rapid electric¬ity demand anticipated in 1993/4.
It has been alleged that the recommendation to award the tender to the bid which was evaluated as the cheapest and most techni¬cally compliant in June 1992 was derailed, leading to a seven-month delay at a time when the country is in the midst of a National Energy Crisis.
May be, Samy Vellu can throw light on the seven-month delay in the award of tenders for the four 110 MW Gas Turbines.