Govt urged to extend bill discount

KOTA KINABALU: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Central Youth Movement leader Sim Fui has appealed to the government to extend the discount on water and electricity bills that would end this month to ease the financial burden of business owners and the people who have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the State Government has provided 30 percent discount on electricity bills and exemption on water bills from April to June this year to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

“These measures have effectively alleviated the people’s burden.

“But the power bill discount and water bill exemption would end on June 30, while the economic sectors are still reeling from the impact of Covid-19.”

Hence, Sim hoped that the State Government would consider extending the exemption on water bills payment and discount on electricity bills.

Although the government has continued to provide allocation to stimulate the economy and allowed more business sectors to reopen under the Recovery Movement Control Order (MCO) phase, he said there was still a long way to go for the market to fully recover.

“This is not a problem that can be solved overnight.”

He said even though the pandemic was under control with zero positive case on some days, businesses were still concerned about whether Covid19 would make a comeback during the RMCO.

“Businesses and the people are seeing a ray of home at this time but the situation is fluid.

“The second wave of infection might hit anytime.”

Sim said many tourism-related businesses in Kota Kinabalu alone have resorted to closure for unable to cope with months of losses. “Not all tourism businesses have closed down, but many of them could not survive under the present circumstances.”

Hence, Sim hoped that the government could extend the exemption on water bills payment and discount on electricity bills to help the people in overcoming these tough times. On another note, he expressed gratitude to the frontliners for their contribution and sacrifice to the people. “We are fortunate to have these frontline workers who have remained steadfast in the fight against Covid-19.”