Three hundred families who were victims of a fire in Kampung Muslim, a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) settlement in Labuan, are against the move by a private company appointed by the National Security Council (NSC), to increase the electricity tariff for the area.

These victims, temporarily relocated in Kampung Kiansam, here, since the fire occured in May 2009, claimed that their power supply was cut off in mid-January after they failed to pay the bills amounting to tens of thousands of ringgit.

A representative appointed by the NSC, Sahadan Binsuy, 42, when approached by Bernama , said they appealed for the council to consider retracting the appointment of the company to allow them to settle their bills as usual.

"We usually pay about RM30,000 per month through a Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) meter, but since the takeover, we now pay over RM60,000 a month," he said.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Labuan NSC secretary Ichwan Fiska Rimaya Musly Thahar said the private company was appointed to manage bills for the NSC and SESB, and added that the tariffs had been approved by the Energy Commission.

- Bernama