S In At - Tenaga Nasional Berhad

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electrical items than they intendedtoo, directly increasing the usage ofelectricity.“It did indeed result in the growth ofelectricity in the domestic sector.”During Abdul Haris’ tenure asMarketing Manager, TNB alsoembarked on its first ever comprehensivecustomer satisfaction index survey – aneffort undertaken nationwide.“The survey was to help us identifyareas of concern for TNB. We are stillconducting this survey today.”In 2003, Abdul Haris left thecompany’s Marketing Department, ashead of the Strategic Marketing Unit,to take on the position of Area Managerin Ipoh. Here, he stayed for three years,before being promoted to GeneralManager of Kedah, two years ago.As GM of Kedah, he overseeswhich includes the customer services,18financial, human resource, networkservices aspect, as well as technical andnon-technical aspects of running TNBKedah.The state of Kedah is divided intothree major areas – Alor Setar, SungaiPetani and Kulim.Each area is headed by an areamanager and each area managermanages several branches.Alor Setar has four branches:Langkawi, Kuala Nerang, Pendangand Jitra. Sungai Petani is divided intoSik and Gua Cempedak. Kulim hasbranches in Bandar Baru and Baling.In Kedah as in other states, thereare six major units which headed byofficers. These are the State FinancialOfficer, Chief Engineer, CustomerService and Marketing Manager, StateSafety Engineer, Human ResourceManager and Strategic Management andOrganizational Development Manager.A similar set up is implemented ineach area. The six state officers andthree area managers report directly toAbdul Haris.Kedah has 1200 staff of which 70 areexecutives.On a daily basis, I meet the head ofunits and go over plans and details. Weupdate each other on what is happeningand discuss strategies for the state.”“We analyse how we are measuringup to the Key Performance Index forthe state. This we monitor on a monthlybasis.”In the two years he has been inKedah, Abdul Haris has worked hardto raise the status of TNB Kedah,by motivating his people to theirbest.In 2006, after AbdulHaris took over thereigns as GM, TNBKedah’s KPIrating went upfrom 11thplace (13states), to5th place.L a s ty e a r ,their KPIr a t i n g sput themin 4th placeamong 13states.One of the TNB’s KPI is the SystemAverage Interruption Duration Index(SAIDI) which measures how manyminutes a customer experiencesinterruptions in a year.In financial year 2004/2005, beforeAbdul Haris joined TNB Kedah, itsSAIDI was 274 minutes per customer,per year.As GM of Kedah,he oversees whichincludes the customerservices, financial,human resource,network servicesaspect, as well astechnical and nontechnicalaspects ofrunning TNB Kedah.In financial year of 2005/2006,this figure went down to 135 minutesper customer per year, followed by80 minutes per customer per yearin financial year 2006/2007. AbdulHaris intends to maintain it below 100minutes per customer per year.In the two years, Abdul Haris hashelmed TNB Kedah they have beenno fatal accidents recorded and thecollection period for revenue has beenreduced from an average of 40-50 daysto 30 days.Indeed Abdul Haris has not let bosseshis employers down, even after 24 yearsin the company.“Wherever they put me, I want mystaff to focus and concentrate on beingthe best. I want my personnel to achievestandards that they themselves can beproud of.”His management style has been totrust his managers to do what needs tobe done once a duty has been delegated.However, he does have frequentdiscussions with them to keep track onprogress.“I like to encourage the fighting spiritin my staff so that when they undertakeanything, they do their very best andset high standards for themselves. Iwant them to be driven. I believe that
everybody in Kedah TNB now, wants toraise the status of TNB Kedah.”Abdul Haris says that what is uniqueabout Kedah is that they have more ruralcustomers than most of the other states.A large part of Kedah is rural, and itsactivities are concentrated mainly onagriculture and paddy farming. Howeverthere are other sectors of importance aswell.For instance, tourism is onesector that keep TNB Kedah onits toes.Langkawi after all is a majortourism destination with manyinternational class hotels.“We get a lot of internationalvisitors staying at 6 and 7 starhotels. They expect the best andcertainly no interruptions inelectrical supply.”Langkawi also hosts manyinternational events anddialogues such as sailing regattas,the Langkawi InternationalMaritime and Aerospace (LIMA)exhibitions, and official eventsthat involve world leaders.“We, in TNB distributionKedah have to ensure supply toLangkawi is at its most efficient.Over the years, our networkin Langkawi has become verystrong and we can easily meetdemands up to 2020.”This is thanks to the submarinecables that was laid in 2003 toreinforce supply to the islandfrom the mainland.He says that aside from astrong and resilient supply ofelectricity, staff must be preparedfor any circumstances and theircustomer services must be wellplaced to meet the needs andqueries of hoteliers, residents,tourists and even, the cementplants operating on the island.Other Prime customers inKedah are Naza Auto plantin Gurun; Petronas FertiliserPlant and Perwaja Steel Plant,also in Gurun; and educationalinstitutions such as UniversityUtara Malaysia in Jitra, ASEANInstitute of Medical Studies (AIMST) inSg. Petani, and the various MARA andcommunity colleges.“Kedah has about 54 of TNB’s 1000top customers. They are very importantto us and contribute to a large chunk ofour revenue.”TNB has a policy of staying in touchwith their Prime customers, meetingthem regularly and ensuring that TNB iseasily contactable in a time of need.Abdul Haris is also looking forward towiring up future projects such as the PusatPengajian Tinggi Al-Bukhary in AlorSetar, the new administrative centre inBandar Muazam, and the new Customers,Immigration and Quarantine Complex inBandar Kota Purba Durian Burung.They are also working on a FederalGovernment-funded project to light uproads and streets in rural areas, and toensure all rural areas have electricitysupply.Internally, TNB Kedah intends tospend RM36 million on 60 projects toimprove its distribution system, andRM54 million on 122 projectswhich involve supplyingelectricity to new customers.They will also be spendingRM59 million on their 33kVprojects, which involvesthe enhancement of their33kV supply system anddistribution’s main intake.“All these projects are tostrengthen our existing networkand distribution capability. Wewill do this frequently.”Technicalities aside, AbdulHaris remains an unwaveringlyloyal employee of TNB. Hereminisces about the timearound 1999 and 2000 whenTNB was going through thepossibility of deregulation.They had been told to be readyfor the split up of the companyand many activities werecarried out to prepare the staffof TNB for this.“Many of us have been inTNB from the start, thus, weare very attached to it. Thethought of splitting up thecompany made us uneasy. Itwas a very uncertain periodand everyone was speculatingon the possibilities.”Abdul Haris is very glad thatat the end, TNB was able toconvince the government thatthe company should remain asa single entity.In his 24 years in TNB,Abdul Haris has seen how TNBhas evolved from LembagaLetrik Negara and progressedfrom a government agency toa large corporation. It has beena remarkable ride for him andhe looks forward to more goodyears.Not one to rest on his laurels, AbdulHaris is going to continue to do his bestto help TNB shine.19
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