Syarikat Sesco Berhad (Sesco), the state-owned power supplier, has come under fire for hiring a foreigner as its chief executive officer, enjoying an annual salary of RM4 million.

"What does he have that the local professionals do not ?" Sarawak DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen asked yesterday.

He said Sesco was also employing 20 other foreign nationals whose yearly salaries were far higher than the locals', for the same type of jobs.

upm student memo to mp 051207 chong chieng jen "The chief executive officer is from Norway while the others, engaged as engineers, are mostly from Australia," said Chong ( left ), also Bandar Kuching member of parliament.

He said the CEO, also entitled to 10 return air tickets, was employed two years ago.

"In a way, he goes back to his country almost every month. Basically, he works about half a year because he goes back every month," he added.

"I want Sesco to disclose how much it is paying all the expats compared to how much it is paying local engineers on the same scale," Chong said.

Pot shots at misplaced generosity

He said it was not fair for Sarawakians to pay so much for the electricity and Sesco just wastes it by spending extravagantly on the employment of the expats.

"I am asking what are the reasons for Sesco to employ the expats when local expertise is readily available," he said.

"Are Sarawakians so unqualified even to be engaged by Sesco as engineers or its chief executive officer?"

Chong also hit out at the power company for replacing electricity meters installed at homes over the last one year on the pretext that they were "running at slow speed".

He said he had received over 20 complaints from house-owners who were asked to settle consumption of electricity they were alleged to have not paid.

"During the installation exercise, the Sesco officers would tell the house-owners that their meters were slower by so many percent.

"They then replaced the meters with the new ones.

"After that they calculated the amount of electricity you were supposed to have used, but not charged for as yet.

  Power firm's imagination working overtime

"The next thing you know, you receive a letter of demand from Sesco asking you to pay for electricity that you have not been billed for," he said.

He said the extra amount to be paid by the consumers would be based on the imaginary consumption of the last 36 months.

Chong cited a case of a house-owner at Stutong Resettlement Scheme who was asked by Sesco to pay RM17,000 for the power his family was supposed to have consumed, but not settled.

"This family received a monthly electricity bill of RM70 to RM80 before the electricity meter was replaced.

"After the replacement, this family was still billed the same amount for its electricity consumption," he added.

He said the original meter was not running at a slow speed as alleged by Sesco.

"It is ridiculous for Sesco to ask this family to pay RM17,000 considering that it is a small family and it has only one air-conditioner.

"Morever, most of the time, members of this family are not in the house during the day," he said.

He said after his complaints, Sesco decided to put on hold the settlement by the house-owners.

"But the amounts still appear on their monthly electricity bills as outstanding amounts," he added.

Those affected were asked to settle amounts, ranging from RM5,000 to RM10,000.

Chong said he was at a loss as to how Sesco came up with such figures.

"My feeling is that Sesco is charging its customers excessively and extravagantly so it can pay the big salaries of its foreign workers," he said.