PARTI Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) urged the Government to forgive electricity bill debt incurred by those who have lost their income for more than a year, primarily of those working in the informal sector.
“While we welcome the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry’s (Ketsa) decision to not cut electricity supply for those who have yet to pay for more than six months, more can be done to help those affected by the pandemic.
“In our estimate, millions of consumers are having problems paying off their electricity bill even after six months. Therefore, we need a better mechanism to ease their burden,” its central committee member Sharan Raj said, in a statement.
Two days ago, minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah announced that Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) would not cut power supply of domestic users who have yet to pay their overdue electricity bills of more than six months.
He also that this was part of the Government’s initiative, in collaboration with TNB, to help those affected by the movement control order (MCO).
The Lenggong MP added that the decision would benefit 6.96 million domestic users across Peninsula Malaysia.
On that note, Sharan urged the Government to use TNB’s massive profits to forgive the overdue electricity tariff incurred by those who have lost their income for the whole year.
“Last year, TNB raked in RM3.6 bil in profits, which should be used to help Malaysians affected by the COVID-19 triggered economic crisis.
“TNB belongs to the public and is a Government-linked company. By right, the public-owned company’s profits should be channelled to help our people, especially during this trying times,” he stated.
Sharan added that the aid should be prioritised to those working in the informal sector, as many of them are suffering due to the loss of income.
“And those in the informal sectors have very little savings and don’t contribute to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Social Security Organisation (Socso),” the PSM leader remarked. – May 23, 2021.
Photo credit: Malaysiakini
