The Malaysian Meteorological Department issued a red alert at 1.30pm, warning that intermittent and sometimes heavy downpours in Kelantan and Terengganu this week could lead to more floods in low-lying areas near river banks.
Thunderstorms in the two states have already forced over 8,000 flood victims to flee to relief centres in Dungun, Kemaman, Marang, Setiu, Hulu Terengganu and Besut.
Now comes news that Tenaga is planning two new hydroelectric plants in Terengganu and Pahang (see report below).
Doesn’t this fly against the justification for the laying of submarine cables to transmit electricity from the Bakun Dam in Sarawak to the peninsula – that there would be no need for expensive new capacity on the peninsula?
Energy Minister Peter Chin said last month that the Cabinet had agreed that opting for the Bakun submarine cable project would be better than continuing to build new power plants in the peninsula. “In the long term, it will be more economical and viable to transmit power from Bakun to Peninsular Malaysia even though the undersea cable project will be very costly,” he said.
So, what’s going on? Was Peter Chin unaware of these two new dams in the peninsula – or was he simply having us on?
