In my calculation, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, our national electricity producer, has absorbed more than 45 percent of the excess capacity produced by Independent Power Producers (IPP) in the country.

This excess power is a worth more than RM6 billion a year since 1999. For the last five years, TNB has had to absorb more than RM30 billion in unsold power from IPPs. Why should TNB have to bear this burden of unfair trade practices?

After all, it is also a publicly listed company that is accountable to its shareholders. If TNB were to be operated as an independent public company without the interference of corrupted officials, then it would have paid off its RM32 billion debt by now.

The increase in demand for power is about at one percent above the Gross Domestic Product of a country. Malaysia's current generating capacity stands at about is about 15,838MW. At the heights of our demand, the country still only needed about 10,000MW of generating capacity.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his cronies at the Economic Planning Units have further approved an output of 2,200MW for IPP Malakoff and another 2,000MW to IPP Jimmah Power.

Meanwhile, the multi-billion Bakun dam project Sarawak is still facing the uncertainty of where to sell off its excess power capacity. Developer Syed Mokhtar Syed Bukhary is demanding that the Employees Provident Fund fund his purchase of Bakun and the sale of power at less than RM0.08 cent per kwh or RM0.05 cents below the price sold to the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporatio (Sesco).

In the midst of the wonder years, Malaysia could have afforded to overlook economic malpractises by the Mahathir administration, but in the lean years under Pak Lah, one should really count every cent to ensure the sustainability of the overall economy.