KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya remains committed to restoring Sabah's electricity management rights and the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry is finalising several counter proposals to the state government, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

       Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said once the proposals are approved by the Cabinet, then there will be an announcement soon regarding the state government's takeover of the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) utility company.

       "We are in the midst of finalising counter proposals to the Sabah state government. There are a few terms that we are finalising.

       "It is the government's intention to handover (SESB) to the state government after this package of counter proposals is finalised and approved by the Cabinet.

       "Negotiations will be held between Putrajaya and Sabah for the handover (of SESB)," he said during his

       winding-up speech on Budget 2022 at the committee stage in Parliament on Monday (Nov 29).

       Takiyuddin was responding to Yeo Bee Yin (PH-Bakri), who earlier asked whether Putrajaya had any intention to return the management of SESB to the Sabah government.

       Yeo said the former Pakatan Harapan government had intended to do so, but did not have the opportunity when it collapsed in February last year after several MPs defected to form the Perikatan Nasional government.

       The SESB was first handed over to Putrajaya by the former state government led by Tan Sri Mohd Harris Salleh in 1984 in an effort to improve power generation in the state.

       Tenaga Nasional Berhad later handled the utility company's operations and it was reported that despite high capital injections by Putrajaya, SESB continued to suffer losses and public complaints.