Another village that I visited was Kampung Tanjung Batu.
Here at Kampung Tanjung Batu, electric poles and terminals were installed 4 months before GE13 and the village was promised to be connected to grid electricity if they voted for Barisan Nasional. Now, many months after the election, there is still no electricity in the village. So the electric poles that you see in the picture here is actually 'empty'. In my later conversation with other village chiefs from Sri Aman, I found that such 'empty' poles are common in villages across Sarawak. This is definitely a good example of endless possibilities BN-style.
Here at Kampung Tanjung Batu, electric poles and terminals were installed 4 months before GE13 and the village was promised to be connected to grid electricity if they voted for Barisan Nasional. Now, many months after the election, there is still no electricity in the village. So the electric poles that you see in the picture here is actually 'empty'. In my later conversation with other village chiefs from Sri Aman, I found that such 'empty' poles are common in villages across Sarawak. This is definitely a good example of endless possibilities BN-style.
"Empty" Electric Pole at Kampung Tanjung Batu
"Empty" Electric Pole at Kampung Tanjung Batu
"Empty" Electric Terminal at Kampung Tanjung Batu
"Empty" Electric Terminal at Kampung Tanjung Batu
For villages that are not connected to grid, many of the villagers are using generator to power up their house whereas the less fortunate ones continue on their life without electricity. Picture below show a typical diesel generator used by the villagers. For your information, while many of the villagers earn just a few hundreds per month, they need to pay so much more for electricity – the electricity generated from a diesel generator is about 40% more expensive per kWh than electricity we obtain in the city from the grid.
Diesel Generator
We asked this man in the picture about what he thinks about the electric poles. Initially he said he was confident that the pole will be connected to the grid one day. I was surprised and asked further. Then he continued with this - the 'one day' will come 2 years later during the state election. Well, how true, how sad.
In a state as rich as Sarawak, electricity should not be a privilege
but a right. Sarawak and Malaysia deserve a better government. Change will not be possible
without Pakatan Rakyat going to the ground and running small projects that give
tangible benefits to the rural Sarawak.
This is what Impian Sarawak is all about. Please support our campaign. For more information about the campaign, visit us at: www.impiansarawak.com.
