PETALING JAYA: Cooling homes and offices is big business due to Malaysia’s year-round hot and humid equatorial climate.
But changing a few simple habits can save consumers’ money and will be better for the environment, says Malaysian eco-activist Gurmit Singh.
“Research has shown in typical urban households in Malaysia, the highest electricity consumption goes to the air conditioner, followed by the fridge and water heater.
“If we tackle these three pieces of electrical appliances, we will be able to save a fair bit of electricity usage,” he said.
The chairman and founding executive director of Centre for Environment, Technology and Development Malaysia (Cetdem) said many do not realise the temperature need not be set too cold.
“The same goes for offices. It is a waste of electricity by setting the temperature so low. “Some hotels and offices are so cold that people have to dress as if they are in winter. “Every degree we raise we are saving 10% of electricity consumption. If we raise five degrees, then we save at least 50% of the consumption. “I think there is a lot of potential to reduce electricity consumption by increasing the thermostat or temperature setting of our air conditioner,” he said, adding that another simple rule of thumb is to switch off any electric appliances when not in use.
Gurmit, however, noted that in general, Malaysians care very little when it comes to saving energy.
“The problem with Malaysians is that we are so used to cheap electricity that many just couldn’t care less about electricity.
“Many tend to think they have enough money that they can afford to use as much electricity as they want.
“Such mindset has been like that for many years. They only hurt when their electricity bills surged suddenly,” he added.
Gurmit was referring to the case of consumers complaining of an unusual increase in their utility bills, which Tenaga Nasional acknowledged was a technical glitch in the system. (see related post below)
Pointing out that Malaysia’s electricity consumption is rather high, Gurmit noted the fact that the generation of electricity also contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases must not be omitted.
“Our per capita greenhouse gas emission is one of the highest in our region – we are probably only second to Singapore and similar to some European countries.
“It clearly shows that we use a lot of energy unnecessarily, not only in the electricity sector,” he said, adding that Malaysians must move away from that practice.
A heated online feud between two high-profile news anchors from China and the US ended on Thursday morning in a seemingly friendly manner, but also laid bare the prejudice of some US elites against China.
The highly anticipated debate between Liu Xin of China Global Television Network (CGTN) and Trish Regan of the Fox Business Network, hailed as a first of its kind, also underscored the urgent need for the two countries to conduct better engagement as the trade and technology war has escalated to dangerous levels, Chinese analysts noted Thursday.
After days of hype, Liu appeared on Regan's primetime show Thursday morning Beijing time, where the two anchors went head-to-head over a wide range of issues, from the ongoing trade war to China's economic system.
Many in China praised Liu's performance for pushing back Regan's questions with clearly biased connotations, despite Liu being at a disadvantage because it was the US anchor's turf and she was in control of the conversation.
"Liu was very calm and showed great demeanor; in contrast, [Regan] appeared to be fanning the flames, instigating war and judging from an established angle," one Sina Weibo user wrote.
Clear prejudice
Despite her apparent attempt to appear fair and friendly with occasional smiles, Regan's prejudice was palpable throughout the showdown lasting around 16 minutes.
She started off the conversation by introducing Liu as a member of the Community Party of China (CPC) and painted Liu as a spokesperson of the CPC, drawing an immediate rebuke from Liu, who said she was not a CPC member.
"Please don't assume," Liu said. "I'm here today, only speaking for myself as Liu Xin, a journalist working for CGTN."
"Right off the bat, [Regan] put a huge label on Liu, saying Liu was representing the CPC… so the American was obviously biased," another Sina Weibo user wrote. Some online even pointed out that there were about 88 million CPC members and 1.4 billion people in China. "How hard can it be to understand that?" one wrote.
After mumbling about unsupported claims that China steals US technologies, Regan dropped another ideologically biased question, while appearing to be asking about China's economic system: "How do you define state capitalism?"
As she did throughout the show, Liu responded with sound arguments, educating the US anchor about China's socialist economy with Chinese characteristics, where market forces play an increasingly bigger role and the private sector is a major force in the economy.
"Such prejudice [against China] has long existed in the US," said Liang Haiming, dean of Hainan University's Belt and Road Research Institute, who also focuses on China-US trade relations. "This will not change from one exchange like this."
Better dialogue
However, Regan, who had fiercely defended the trade war the US government has initiated against China without concrete proof, did show a much softer tone and even appeared to be backing down from some of her earlier comments.
The showdown on Thursday appeared to be friendlier than their earlier fiery exchanges online, drawing praise from some Chinese and even Chinese officials.
Reacting to the debate, Lu Kang, spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, said that he was happy to see "rational, open and frank" dialogue between Chinese and US people in different areas.
At a time when tensions between the two economic powers are running high, the two countries need more effective dialogue rather than constant finger-pointing and the debate might have set a great example for that, analysts said.
"This is like in 1971, when the US ping-pong team was invited to China. No one remembers who won the matches, but people remember only that the US team went to China," Feng Da Hsuan, chief adviser of the China Silk Road iValley Research Institute and former vice president for research at the University of Texas at Dallas, told the Global Times, referring to a ping-ping match that has been widely credited as the start of China-US diplomatic relations in the early 1970s.
Anchors’ debate trumps China-US tensions
The debate between Fox Business' Trish Regan and China Global Television Network (CGTN)'s Liu Xin began around 8:30 on Thursday (Beijing time) and lasted only 16 minutes, much shorter than people had expected. The debate went more like an interview where Regan kept throwing questions and Liu responded.
Before the debate started, other topics and an advertisement were broadcast, including a long talk by Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido. After the event, Michael Pillsbury from Washington DC-based Hudson Institute, who is known for his anti-China stance, appeared to make his comments.
The international community has shown interest in the debate mainly because of the conflict between China and the US, which has gone far beyond being a squabble to do with trade. There is increasingly intense exchange of opinions but both sides barely conceded to each other's stance.
A straight-out face-to-face talk between the two anchors would have been generally welcomed, although there are some people who just wanted to be bystanders.
Anyway, the debate has made headlines. This shows that there was too little effective communication between Beijing and Washington. The US is a country where the press is largely free but their reports about the trade war and China have been colored with views of the US political elite. The voice that reflects China's views can hardly spread in the US. American media outlets would censor China's voices to fit the agenda set by the US administration, thus rendering the message going across almost ineffectual.
There were no big flaws in the anchors' performance in the debate. Regan was aggressive while talking about China in an earlier broadcast, but this time she was restrained - more like an anchor. In the meantime, Liu was humble and candid. The whole dialogue was cordial.
What they talked about was not surprising - the possibility of zero tariffs between China and the US, disputes about intellectual property, and whether China is a developing or developed country. When the debate began, Regan introduced Liu as a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC), but Liu corrected Regan by saying that she was not, "Please don't assume that I'm a member. And I don't speak for the CPC. Here, today, I'm only speaking for myself as Liu Xin, a journalist working for CGTN."
This has demonstrated that Regan, as well as many other US media staff, don't understand how the Chinese system led by the CPC works. They have taken many things for granted. Such misunderstanding colors US public opinion about China.
Apparently, the brief dialogue came short on being thorough. It was far from meeting people's expectation. But it was still regarded as conducive. It is better to make such efforts rather than desisting from trying to have effective communication between China and the US.
We hope the debate could remind people of the importance of China-US talks and help the two countries get rid of political shackles and utilitarianism in consultations and strive to break the estrangement.
Have the anchors set a good example? It depends on what happens in the future. We hope people can say "yes" when they look back someday.
By Shan Renping - a commentator with the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
Newspaper headline: Anchors’ debate trumps China-US tensions
KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has admitted that a recent technical glitch is among the reasons for the sudden surge in utility bills.
TNB president and chief executive officer Amir Hamzah Azizan, who held a press conference yesterday, was apologetic and promised to investigate and resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Amir said the technical glitch between May 15 and May 20 caused a slight disruption to the system but it had since been resolved.
“Between May 15 and May 20, the system has been operationalised in stages so we can ensure we can (provide) service to the customers as fast as we can.
“By May 20, everything was back in operation. Some customers may have been billed for extra days (causing a hike in the bill),” he told the media.
Amir urged consumers to lodge a report if they noticed any discrepancies in their bills.
He vowed that TNB would investigate and address their complaints.
Amir said in April alone, the utility company received 5,621 complaints but this almost doubled to 9,028 in May.
“This brings the total number of complaints to 14,469 reports and from this, 11,331 have been resolved.
“We would also like to repeat our stand that TNB will keep its promise to investigate the reports.
“If there is evidence that we did overcharge, we will credit the amount back to our customers’ accounts,” Amir said.
He said a special task force, led by TNB’s chief retail officer Megat Jalaluddin Megat Hassan, had been formed to oversee the complaints and resolve the issue.
Megat Jalaluddin said that it usually took about two weeks to credit the amount back to consumers but it could be delayed due to the large number of complaints received.
Amir said other reasons for the sudden surge in electricity bills include old and faulty TNB meters, replacement of new meters and increased usage in the consumer’s household.
He also assured consumers of uninterrupted electricity supply, especially during Hari Raya.
“To those who have lodged reports or ongoing investigations, we assure that the disconnection notice will be postponed for two weeks.
“We would like everyone to have a peaceful Hari Raya celebration,” he said.
Amir said the operation hours of TNB offices would be extended from 8am to 6pm from Monday to Saturday, except for public holidays.
As for the TNB Careline, the hours will be extended from 7am to 11pm every day including public holidays, except for Sunday.
This is to help facilitate complaints from consumers and to help resolve their billing issues as soon as possible.
On comments by Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin that TNB would be fined even after it rectifies the billing problem, Amir said at the moment the utility company would focus on fixing the problem.
“My focus is to resolve this issue, we will talk about other issues later. The consumers are our priority,” he said.
During an interview on 8TV’s Global Watch programme on Thursday, Yeo said the Energy Commission had already given TNB a warning letter and an instruction notice to resolve the problem.
KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) should give a concrete explanation for the sudden discrepancies in electricity bills and take holistic steps instead of just depending on complaints from users, say consumer groups.
Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) education officer N.V. Subbarao said TNB, as the national utility company, must take responsibility instead of depending on consumers to come forward and lodge reports.
“TNB must do the due diligence. It will be unfair to those especially in the rural areas,” he said.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) chief operations officer T. Saravanan said that while TNB wanted users to lodge complaints, the utility company needed to improve its customer service and response time.
He noted that TNB should explain why there was a technical glitch in its system.
“The problem should have been communicated to the public earlier and they should not have waited for the Energy Commission or Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry to intervene,” he said.
He also noted that the Energy Commission should investigate the issue and publish its findings.
“An independent investigation team should be formed so that the findings won’t be biased.
“The Energy Commission should play an important role in protecting consumers,” said Saravanan.
Malaysian Islamic Consumer Association secretary-general Datuk Dr Ma’mor Osman said TNB’s explanation that the sudden increase in electricity bill was due to a technical glitch could not be accepted.
“The public cannot accept this as TNB has all the technology to check silly mistakes.
“TNB makes very high profits and they have monopolised the sector.
“If they do not give a satisfactory explanation, consumers will assume that they just want to make more money.
“If they know there is a glitch in the system, they need to inform all consumers.
“There is no point in blaming others for their wrongdoing,” he said.
