“That is between the 1Borneo (hypermall management) and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB).

“If the government intervenes in everything, then everyone will come to the government… habis kita (we’ll be in trouble then),” he said.

“I have not met them but they have sent a letter to me. In my opinion, they should pay the bill.

“If they can’t settle all at once, then at least in instalments. If the SESB puts this arrears payment on hold again, then it will suffer and later the whole of Sabah will suffer,” Shafie said.

SESB had on Monday threatened to cut the power to the largest mall in East Malaysia after it failed to settle power debts of RM9.3 million accumulated for over a year.

SESB disconnected the power supply at the mall about 8am today. However, a mall source said only the power to the chillers was cut and hence no air-conditioning was available.

The lights at the common area were still functioning.

The source said SESB reconnected the electricity supply about noon after the management settled the mall’s current bill of about RM700,000.

Following SESB’s statement on Monday, the mall’s management had hit back, saying SESB should not have made the issue public by going to the press.

Global Group of Companies operations director KK Tham claimed he received numerous calls from potential investors who were worried after the news broke.

Tham said SESB’s action had tarnished the image of not only the mall but also Sabah as a whole.

As a result, he claimed foreign investors who were once interested in Sabah were now shying away.

However, Shafie said the mall should be able to settle its power bills if it claimed to be boosting economy in the state.

“They cannot say they bring investors but they cannot pay the electricity bill,” he said.

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