When the lights go out in Kampung Sungai Relang
Despite living just off the KL-Karak Highway, residents of this Orang Asli village depend on solar lamps, generators and energy projects that repeatedly fall into disrepair.
Kampung Sungai Relang, a Temuan village, remains without reliable electricity despite its proximity to the KL-Karak Highway. The village, home to about 50 residents from 12 households, struggles with darkness during the night, relying on solar lamps, television flickers from diesel generators, or candles when the solar-powered battery pack fails.
The village has seen several failed attempts to establish electricity, with abandoned solar installations and a hydro-solar microgrid standing as reminders. Despite these setbacks, SOLS Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, is providing small off-grid solar systems funded by Google, capable of powering several hours of lighting and charging devices.
The families in Sungai Relang, although thankful for the limited power, desire a more dependable electricity source. The issue, according to experts, lies not in installation but in the long-term maintenance and community involvement in managing the systems. Efforts are underway to address the village's energy crisis, yet the path to reliable electricity remains challenging.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
