Labuan folk are crying foul over the prolonged water and power disruptions, appealing to the government to come up with an effective solution.
Water and power disruptions are taking place on a weekly basis, and angry residents continue to vent their anger on social media.
“After facing difficulties with the weekly water and power disruptions, this island, which is being surrounded by sea, is now sweltering under a record-breaking heatwave.
“No water supply, no power supply, and now we are confined to our own home because of the extreme heat,” said a 43-year-old local, Rosli Bahrum.
The island recorded temperatures as high as 38 degrees Celsius at 1.30pm today. The Malaysian meteorological department (MetMalaysia) expects the current hot weather to ease off by next month.
Labuan has been undergoing power supply rationing since the end of last month, with several villages having power supply disruptions for a few hours on a daily basis.
A Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd spokesman said the rationing exercise was due to the lack of generation capacity in the power grid in Labuan and Sabah.
“For today, at least two feeders involving several villages are facing power supply rationing for one to three hours. We cannot confirm when the rationing exercise will end as this has been classified as a national crisis,” he told Bernama.
The areas affected by power supply rationing are Kampung Bukit Kalam, SK Bukit Kalam, Kampung Pulau Akar, Taman Lazenda 6, Perumahan Perbadanan Labuan, Pam JBA Bukit Kuda, and Perumahan Kastam Bukit Kuda.
Other affected areas are Kampung Bukit Kuda, the JS Sport Centre, Labuan Vocational College, Kampung Lajau, as well as Lazenda Villa 5 and its surroundings.
In a statement yesterday, the Labuan Water Supply Division said the Bukit Kalam water pump was malfunctioning as it was affected by the power supply rationing, leaving it unable to pump out water to the balancing tank in Bukit Besar.
More than 20 villages and several residential areas were expected to experience water disruptions when the water level at the balancing tank drops.