KOTA KINABALU: Some 200 villagers in Sabah's south-western Tawau district had to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri without electricity.
In fact, the villagers of Kampung Luasong – 74km from Tawau town – had been without electricity since the start of the fasting month after a diesel generator set up by Yayasan Sabah broke down.
They have been coping without electricity supply but it became a struggle as they were forced to celebrate Hari Raya without power.
Kalabakan MP Datuk Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy (pic) hoped steps would be taken immediately to repair the generator as soon as possible.
"It is the only source of power for the villagers pending the completion of the long-delayed Luasong Rural Electricity Supply Scheme (BELB)," he said during a recent visit to Kampung Luasong.
"The residents I met complained about this problem (lack of electricity supply) that has been happening since (Ramadan) started. I hope immediate action is taken by the authorities.
"I understand it is not the first time this has occurred this year.
"They have been experiencing power supply interruptions several times due to the generator breaking down," said Andi, who is also Tanjung Batu assemblyman and state Assistant Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister.
He also hoped the BELB project would be accelerated so that the residents no longer had to rely on generators that frequently broke down.
The project is said to be 73% complete although according to the schedule, it should be 94% ready at this point in time.
Andi Muhammad said he was told the delay had been caused by cable supply and labour shortage problems.
"I hope that the problem faced can be dealt with as soon as possible so that the BELB project can be completed on schedule for the well-being of the people," he added.
