AMANAH Youth has proposed the introduction of special rebates on the overall electricity bills following the ongoing hot weather phenomena in the country.
In a statement on Monday (April 1), Amanah Youth vice-president Ammar Atan said the rebate could reduce the financial burden of those particularly from the low- and middle-income group while at the same time guaranteeing a more comfortable quality of life.
“The extreme weather is expected to last until April, with data from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) indicating that almost half of Peninsular Malaysia is experiencing temperatures of above 35°C for three days in a row,” Ammar said.
He cited the incident where a 22-year-old man from Pahang had died from heat stroke as well as the drought in Kelantan which had resulted in 40,000 tonnes of rice yield being affected as examples of the current situation.
“Temperatures in Malaysia had been on the rise in the last 50 years and the extreme weather is expected to become hotter and drier in years to come,” Ammar warned.
“Therefore, we need a mechanism that could help the people, especially young children, face the situation more comfortably.
“I trust that Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the Madani government can consider the proposal of a special rebate on electricity bills as well as a mechanism that could be utilised in times of extreme weather in the future.”
On March 29, Bernama reported MetMalaysia as saying that a total of 29 areas in the Peninsula had recorded a Level 1 heatwave alert as of 4.30pm on that day.
MetMalaysia, in a hot weather status update on its Facebook account, said that the affected areas are throughout Perlis; Baling, Kota Setar, Kubang Pasu, Langkawi Island, Padang Terap, Pokok Sena, Kuala Muda and Sik in Kedah and Hulu Perak and Kuala Kangsar in Perak.
Also listed is Sepang in Selangor; Jelebu, Seremban, Jempol, Rembau, Tampin (Negeri Sembilan); Alor Gajah and Jasin (Melaka); Tangkak, Muar, Batu Pahat, Kluang and Segamat (Johor); Bera, Maran, Raub and Temerloh (Pahang) and Jeli (Kelantan), while in Sabah it involves Keningau and in Sarawak, only Mukah is affected.
A level one heatwave alert refers to a daily maximum temperature of 35° to 37°Celsius for at least three consecutive days.
MetMalaysia previously said that the hot and dry weather conditions in most areas throughout the country are due to Malaysia being in the final phase of the northeast monsoon (MTL).
However, the weather conditions are expected to gradually improve by the middle of next month following the start of the monsoon transition phase today and will continue until May. – April 1, 2024
Main pic credit: Bernama
