Sarawak has started supplying electricity to Sabah two days ago, says premier

BINTULU, Dec 6 2025: Sarawak has started supplying 30 mega watts (MW) of  power to Sabah two days ago, said Premier Abang Johari Openg today.

Caption: Abang Johari Openg says Sarawak has been exporting electricity to West Kalimantan since 2026 

“Now we can establish the Borneo grid because we are also supplying power to Kalimantan,” he said in his speech at the signing of signing of  the Shareholders’ Agreement  between PMB Aluminium Sdn Bhd and  Bintulu Capital Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bintulu Development Authority  (BDA). 

Sarawak has been exporting 100 to 200MW of electricity since 2016 through the West Kalimantan Interconnection.

He said Sarawak, through Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), has investment on hydro-electrict project in North Kalimantan and “in terms of energy production, we are there.”

The supply of power to Sabah is done through the transmission line connection from Miri to Lawas under the Northern Grid Extension project.

The supply is from the Lawas substation to the Mengalong substation in Sabah via a 34-km-long, 275-kilovolt (kV) transmission line.

On August 6, 2021, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and Syarikat SESCO Berhad (SESCO), a subsidiary of Sarawak Energy signed a Power Exchange Agreement and an Interconnection Agreement.

The agreements would pave the way for an initial export of 30MW for a term of 15 years via a 31km 275kV double circuit transmission line which would run from Lawas in Sarawak to Mengalong in Sabah.

The Power Exchange Agreement and Interconnection Agreement were signed on behalf of SESB by its chief cxecutive officer  Abdul Nasser Abdul Wahid while  Sharbini Suhaili, group chief executive officer for Sarawak Energy signed on behalf of SESCO.

State government to establish Sarawak-Owned Enterprise that will be run commercially, free from General Orders of Civil Service

BINTULU, Dec 6 2025: The state government is now moving towards establishing Sarawak-Owned Enterprise (SOE) that will be run commercially, just like the corporate sector. 

Caption: Premier Abang Johari Openg says those who can't perform will be fired.

Premier Abang Johari Openg said  SOE’s system is  detached from the normal the General Orders of the State Civil Service.

“If they perform they are there, if they make money they decide on the bonus. But then if you don’t perform, you are fired,” he said in his speech at the signing of  the Shareholders’ Agreement  between PMB Aluminium Sdn Bhd and  Bintulu Capital Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bintulu Development Authority  (BDA).

“That is the system that we want to establish in SOE. They are not bound by the General Orders, but based on performances.

“If you have this entity moving forward, with new ideas, new ways to manage business, then the whole economy will come up.

“It is our GPS’ conviction that Sarawak will become the “Star of Asean”. We should be there because we have all the basic ingredients in terms of resources,” he said.

He added what Sarawak needs now is the human capital.

“That is why we are giving free tertiary education to Sarawak students studying in state-owned higher institutions starting next year,” he said.

Abang Johari said the state government is focusing on producing chips, explaining the reasons for the state to get the right human capital, and at the same, increasing productivity.

AirBorneo to start flying jet planes in July next year, Singapore as first overseas destination

KUCHING, Dec 5 2025: Sarawak-owned airlines AirBorneo will start flying jet planes in July next year for its overseas operation.

Caption: Premier Abang Johari Openg says AirBorneo will also fly to Korea and Japan 

Premier Abang Johari Openg also said with the acquisition of jet planes, AirBorneo will fly to Singapore as the first overseas destination in the Asean region.

“The Singapore government has agreed for AirBorneo to fly Singapore,” he said at the 53^rd anniversary dinner of the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) here tonight.

“I was in Singapore the other day with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the Singapore Transport Minister then asked me if it was true that we were going to operate new airlines, and I said “yes”, that is true.

“I then said we want to fly to Singapore.

“I asked if we could fly to Singapore, then the prime minister (Lawrence Wong) answered he wanted AirBorneo to fly to Singapore,” Abang Johari said.

The premier said AirBorneo will not only fly to Singapore, but also to Korea and Japan.

The transition of MASwings to AirBorneo will be completed by the end of this year.

In 2023, the Sarawak government announced its intention to acquire MASwings to establish a state-owned airline.

The acquisition was formally completed on January 13, 2025, followed by a signing ceremony on  February 12, 2025, during which the airline’s rebranding as AirBorneo was officially introduced.

The rebranding is expected to take effect on January 1, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals, infrastructure readiness and the integration of its workforce and fleet.

As part of its rebranding to AirBorneo, the airline will evolve into a full-service carrier, expanding its offerings to include regional, domestic and international flights.

Despite the change in ownership to the Sarawak government, the federal government will continue to subsidise the RAS programme in Sabah and Sarawak.

MASwings is a subsidiary of the Malaysian Aviation Group.