Sabah Umno information chief Datuk Suhaimi Nasir has slammed Sabah Bersatu over its criticism of stalled hybrid solar projects in remote northern islands.

The Libaran MP said Bersatu is “barking from outside the fence” but doing nothing to resolve the very problems it helped create.

He was responding to Sabah Bersatu Women’s Chief Rahimah Majid, who visited sites in Pulau Banggi and Pulau Balambangan recently. 

Rahimah had accused the government, particularly Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who holds the rural and regional development ministry portfolio, of letting the solar systems rot, pointing to the rusting solar panels, broken wiring, and abandoned control rooms.

Ahmad Zahid is the minister overseeing the rural electrification initiative. 

“The people have waited long enough,” she said. “What they got was silence and scrap metal.”

But Suhaimi said Rahimah’s statement was misleading and lacked basic facts.

He clarified that the Pulau Banggi Rural Electrification Project was fully completed in 2015 and was already handed to Sabah Electricity for maintenance. 

“That was long before Zahid Hamidi became minister,” Suhaimi said.

He explained the project had been handed over to Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) for maintenance.

“Any technical failures now are SESB’s responsibility, not the ministry’s.”

As for the other sites mentioned – including Pulau Tigabu, Kg Selamat, and Pulau Balambangan – Suhaimi said they are part of a different project altogether.

That project, known as the Hybrid Solar System for Remote Islands, started around 2017 or 2018. It is currently 85% complete but delayed by nearly a year.

Suhaimi said the federal ministry is now moving to terminate the contractor, adding that a site visit has already been scheduled for June 16, 2025, as part of enforcement actions.

“This is proof the government is acting,” Suhaimi said.

He also said it was ironic that Bersatu is criticising a project inherited from their own time in power. 

Bersatu held federal power from May 2018 to November 2022, either as part of PH, as the lead party in Perikatan Nasional, or as a key coalition partner under Ismail Sabri.

Bersatu president, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin became prime minister on March 1, 2020 and replaced by Umno vice president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri on August 2021. 

“These delays began during their watch. Now they blame others,” said Suhaimi. 

He accused Rahimah of creating a “false perception” to distract from Bersatu’s lack of solutions.

Suhaimi said it’s easy to shout from the sidelines, but much harder to do the work.

“Bersatu Sabah is barking outside the fence. But they never enter the ring to solve the issue.”

He urged them to stop politicising the problem.

“Sabahans deserve real answers. Not recycled outrage. Let’s deal with facts, not fiction. The people can see who shows up – and who vanished when in power,” added Suhaimi. – May 27, 2025