Outspoken Kalabakan MP Abdul Ghapur Salleh sees money, or the love of it, as a reason behind Sabah's energy issues.

It appears that many faceless creatures are holding the consumers to ransom as they try to extract the most profit possible, or so the thinking goes.

 Ghapur was saying publicly what various NGOs have been whispering on the sidelines of regular energy forums on green and other alternative solutions.

The NGOs have dropped strong hints that following the money trail will unravel the reasons behind the perennial power woes in Sabah.

NONE The fingers of suspicion are being pointed at Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) chairman Leo Moggie Irok in particular.

Ghapur ( left ) suggested the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC)  investigate the purchase of used generators by TNB for Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB).

He said this in remarks following his speech in Parliament on the ongoing Sabah power crisis.

He also brought up Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's promise in Tawau last September that money would be allocated to purchase new generators.

The already purchased used generators, he surmised, should be returned to the sellers Sime Darby and replaced with new ones.

The Sabah MP declared: "Only second-class citizens get used generators."

There is also a need to probe, said Ghapur,why power retails at 0.24 sen per unit in Sabah compared with 0.21 sen per unit in Peninsular Malaysia.

He believes that profiteering is being done by ‘unseen hands'.

The Sabah Umno strongman is also puzzled by figures that show SESB has received RM one billion in fuel subsidies for a recent period via TNB "when most of the oil and gas resources are from Sabah".

Forcing coal upon the people

The third factor highlighted by Ghapur was the possibility of "some people", having secured lucrative coal contracts in Indonesia for resale to SESB, driving the push for the coal option in Sabah.

"TNB and SESB don't seem to looking at other energy options available and keep flogging the coal option," said Ghapur.

He does not rule out the possibility that the power shortages in Sabah were being allowed to happen to force the coal option on the unsuspecting consumers.

In support of this line, he points out that TNB/SESB has yet to conduct a study on alternative options.

Instead, it appears, that all energy studies conducted so far by both monopolies have been on foisting the coal option on the state.

If push comes to shove, continued Ghapur, he will shame Parliament every session with the power woes facing Sabah.

masidi manjun State Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment Masidi Manjun (right ) begs to disagree with his fellow Umno legislator.

He thinks that the used generators should be accepted for the moment while working on more permanent solutions.

Likewise, he took issue with the anti-coal lobby and pointed out that nothing had been finalised yet since there were differences over the terms of reference for the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) for the proposed project in Lahad Datu Felda.

"We are in fact open to alternative energy options for Sabah to replace the coal plant," claimed Masidi. "Green Surf - a coalition of NGOs against the coal option - has submitted their energy options for Sabah. We will study them."