KOTA KINABALU: \u201cPancing karan\u201d, a local term for electricity theft by making illegal connections, is not something \u201cunusual\u201d in Sabah, especially among squatter residents, who are usually illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n
Bernama, which has\u00a0been following the authorities in a\u00a0two-day operation to crack down on this activity in Lorong Keleto, Kampung Bawang, and Kampung Suang Parai here saw how cables are\u00a0illegally\u00a0connected to the feeder boxes by the culprits to steal electricity to their homes.
\nWires and cables dangling in bunches from electric poles and also lying on the ground and across rivers are a common sight. They pose a threat to the safety of those living in the area.
\nSabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) Chief Transformation Officer Norhizami Abu Hassan said ‘pancing karan’ should not be taken lightly as it could cause death,\u00a0 as well as disrupt the electricity supply system.
\n“These illegal connections made to steal electricity should be stopped, hence the operation by\u00a0SESB and the relevant\u00a0authorities, which is\u00a0to ensure the safety of the public, especially to\u00a0 prevent electrocution among the\u00a0residents ,\u201d he said in an interview with\u00a0Bernama and RTM.
\nNorhizami said the illegal activity should be stopped to avoid power supply disruption and ensure stable electricity supply for subscribers in the state.
\n“SESB suffers non-technical losses amounting to\u00a0RM25 million to RM30 million a year due to illegal connections in squatter settlements,\u201d he said, adding that SESB is working with the state government to identify settlements that can be provided with special electricity supply with the use of pre-paid electricity meters.
\nOn the operation that was held, he said, it involved\u00a0\u00a073 personnel from SESB, Sabah\u00a0Energy Commission, the local authorities and the police.
\nWest Coast Sabah Energy Commission director Jeffrey Nuri said\u00a0 three deaths from electrocution due to \u201cpancing karan\u201d had been recorded this year, with the latest case reported last April 4 at Lorong Keleto.
\nHe advised the public against making illegal connection to steal electricity as it is not safe, and those with information on the matter to lodge a report with the relevant authorities.
\nMeanwhile, Abdul Wahab Selamat, 51, a construction worker who lives near the squatter areas, said despite frequent operation conducted by the authorities to end \u00a0\u201cpancing karan\u201d, the squatter residents would reconnect the cables again after the authorities left.
\nIn less than a week after the operation, it is back to normal again, he added.
\nA housewife in Inanam,\u00a0\u00a0Noor Maizunah Zainul, 44, said electricity supply in her housing area is always\u00a0 disrupted and believed it is due to the \u201cpancing karan\u201d activity.
\nWhen we advised them (squatter resident) against doing it, they became aggressive, she added.
\n— BERNAMA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KOTA KINABALU: \u201cPancing karan\u201d, a local term for electricity theft by making illegal connections, is not something \u201cunusual\u201d in Sabah, especially among squatter residents, who are usually illegal immigrants. Bernama, which has\u00a0been following the authorities in a\u00a0two-day operation to crack down on this activity in Lorong Keleto, Kampung Bawang, and Kampung Suang Parai here saw […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":5508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5507","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5509,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5507\/revisions\/5509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}