Highrise folk take a hike

10/01/2008 The Star

SOME 1,000 dwellers from the 21-storey Block B1 and Block E2 of the Taman Teluk Indah flats in Prai Jaya, Butterworth, had to use the staircase when electricity to common facilities was cut for more than 28 hours.

Power was cut off at 10am on Tuesday because of an outstanding RM23,000 bill.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd only reconnected supply at 2.30pm yesterday on the intervention of Batu Kawan MP Huan Cheng Guan who contacted its general manager Ismail Abdul Rahman and pleaded with him to restore supply on humanitarian grounds.

Huan, who also brought the matter up to the attention of Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, said the company managing the maintenance of the flats paid RM3,000 to TNB office at Bandar Perda near here on Tuesday but RM23,000 was still unpaid.

Although power supply to the flat units was not affected as the dwellers had paid their individual bills, their water supply was disrupted because the pumps were not working due to the power cut.

Some students skipped school yesterday because they could not bathe or clean up.

The residents had to carry pails of water from elsewhere up to their units.

Huan said TNB should be flexible as most of the unit dwellers were poor while the new school year had just started.

Several residents said they were upset over the whole episode after having promptly settled their RM50 monthly maintenance fee.

They said it was unfair for TNB to penalise good paymasters by disconnecting the common power supply.

Huan thanked Ismail for his immediate response.