By DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN, President Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
KOTA KINABALU: Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) welcomes Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s announcement that Sabah intends to achieve a 50% renewable-energy share in its power-generation capacity by 2035.
Sabah possesses abundant solar, hydropower, biomass and other renewable-energy resources. A transition towards cleaner and more secure energy is both desirable and necessary, particularly for a State that has endured decades of unreliable electricity supply, repeated disruptions, insufficient reserve capacity and uneven infrastructure development.
The target is therefore technically possible.
However, the more important question is not whether Sabah has sufficient renewable-energy potential. The real question is whether the State Government possesses the institutional capability, financial discipline and political determination to implement the projects required to achieve it.
Hajiji reportedly stated that Sabah is developing approximately 450MW of large-scale solar capacity, with 200MW expected to be completed by early 2027 and another 250MW targeted for completion by 2028. The Government has also referred to hydropower, battery-energy storage, biomass and other projects as part of the Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan 2040.
These are encouraging proposals, but Sabahans have heard many ambitious infrastructure announcements before.
Roads, water-supply systems, electricity projects and other essential public infrastructure have repeatedly suffered from delays, escalating costs, weak supervision and poor maintenance. A target set for 2035 must therefore not become another political promise whose success or failure cannot be assessed until those responsible have left office.
BoPiMaFo stresses that installed renewable-energy capacity is not necessarily the same as the actual amount of renewable electricity generated and delivered to consumers.
Solar power, for example, is intermittent. Its effective contribution depends upon adequate battery storage, backup generation, transmission infrastructure and a stable electricity grid. Sabah may theoretically install a large amount of renewable capacity, but that achievement will mean little if electricity interruptions continue or if the system cannot reliably transmit that power to homes, businesses and rural communities.
Sabah’s electricity system has previously operated with a comparatively narrow reserve margin and remains dependent upon substantial investment to improve reliability. Battery storage, grid reinforcement and dependable generation must therefore progress together rather than as disconnected projects.
The State Government must also explain whether the proposed 50% refers merely to the proportion of installed capacity or whether it represents 50% of the electricity actually generated and supplied annually.
That distinction is essential.
A government should not be permitted to celebrate reaching a nominal capacity target while Sabahans continue to experience blackouts, voltage instability, insufficient rural electrification or dependence upon costly emergency generation.
BoPiMaFo calls upon the Sabah Government and the Energy Commission of Sabah to publish a transparent, year-by-year implementation plan containing:
1. Sabah’s existing renewable installed capacity and its actual annual renewable-energy generation;
2. the additional capacity that must be completed each year between 2026 and 2035;
3. the name, location, cost, contractor, financing arrangement and completion date of every major project;
4. the battery-storage and transmission capacity required to support additional solar and hydropower generation;
5. quarterly progress reports identifying delays, cost increases and corrective measures;
6. the expected impact upon electricity tariffs, government subsidies and SESB’s financial position; and
7. specific plans to ensure that rural and interior communities benefit from the transition rather than remaining the last to receive dependable electricity.
The Government should also establish an independently verifiable public dashboard so that Sabahans can determine whether each project is on schedule.
The announcement of a 2035 target does not relieve the Government of its responsibility to deliver measurable results in 2026, 2027 and 2028.
By early 2027, the public should be able to verify whether the promised first 200MW of large-scale solar capacity has been completed. By 2028, the additional 250MW should be operational or the Government should publicly explain the reasons for any delay. Major transmission, storage and hydropower projects must likewise be assessed against clear milestones.
Sabah has already assumed greater regulatory responsibility over its electricity sector through ECoS. The State Government can no longer attribute every weakness in the electricity system to federal control or decisions made in Kuala Lumpur.
Greater authority must be accompanied by greater accountability.
BoPiMaFo supports a renewable-energy future for Sabah. But renewable energy must serve Sabah’s people first. It should strengthen energy security, reduce interruptions, expand rural access, create skilled employment for Sabahans and support industrial development.
It must not become another avenue for opaque concessions, politically connected contracts, speculative projects or agreements that transfer Sabah’s natural resources and economic opportunities to outside interests without corresponding public benefit.
The 50% target is achievable, but only if the Government replaces announcement-based governance with disciplined implementation.
Sabah does not suffer from a shortage of natural resources, development plans or political promises. It suffers from a persistent failure to translate those resources and plans into dependable public services.
The people of Sabah must therefore judge this commitment not by the ambition of the 2035 headline, but by the projects completed, electricity generated, disruptions reduced and communities connected during the years leading to it.
A roadmap is not an achievement. A target is not delivery. The Government must now prove that it has the capability to turn Sabah’s renewable-energy potential into reliable electricity for the people.
