By Daniel John Jambun, President Change Advocate Movement Sabah (CAMOS)
KOTA KINABALU: Sabahans are now being forced to pay higher electricity tariffs.
From 1 February 2026, the average electricity tariff in Sabah and Labuan was raised from 34.52 sen per kWh to 39.70 sen per kWh — an increase of about 5 sen per kWh (≈15 %).
Across the border in Sarawak, electricity tariffs did not increase and remain among the lowest in Malaysia, with typical domestic rates ranging between 18 sen and 31.5 sen per kWh depending on usage tier.
That stark contrast tells the real story.
So let us ask the obvious question:
> If Sarawak can protect its people from higher electricity costs, why can’t Sabah?
The answer is simple: leadership failure.
Sarawak governs.
GRS improvises.
In Sarawak, power generation and distribution are managed by Sarawak Energy — a professionally run, state-owned utility backed by long-term planning, hydro investments, and clear policy direction.
Sarawak treats electricity as a strategic public service.
GRS treats electricity as a problem to be dumped on consumers.
That is why Sarawak absorbs costs internally.
Sabah passes costs directly to rakyat.
Sabah’s power mess is self-inflicted
In Sabah, electricity is handled by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd — a utility crippled by:
decades of under-investment
outdated infrastructure
dependence on expensive diesel
weak governance
zero long-term energy vision
This did not happen overnight.
It happened because successive governments — including today’s GRS administration — failed to plan, failed to reform, and failed to secure Sabah’s energy autonomy.
Now Sabahans are being made to pay for that incompetence.
“Unavoidable”? No — it is the price of incompetence.
Calling this tariff hike “unavoidable”, as claimed by Hajiji Noor, is political cowardice.
Sarawak faced rising costs too.
Sarawak chose leadership.
Sabah chose excuses.
Let us be brutally honest:
> This tariff hike is not caused by global energy prices.
It is caused by local political failure.
Who suffers?
Not ministers.
Not political appointees.
Not GLC chairmen.
It is:
small shop owners
rural families
pensioners
farmers
hawkers
micro-entrepreneurs
GRS protects power — not people.
A government that cannot manage electricity cannot manage Sabah
Electricity is basic governance.
If GRS cannot even keep the lights affordable in one of Malaysia’s poorer states, then it has no moral authority to lecture Sabahans about development.
Sarawak planned.
Sabah stumbled.
Sarawak protected its people.
GRS punished theirs.
Final word
Sabah does not lack natural resources.
Sabah lacks competent leadership.
This tariff hike — from 34.52 sen to 39.70 sen per kWh — is a public invoice for GRS’s failures.
And Sabahans are being forced to pay it.
