WEDNESDAY-19TH DECEMBER 2007- Rude power meter reader scares family

Rude power meter reader scares family
A resident of Kwan Loke Garden in Likas is unhappy with the attitude of a meter reader from Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd, as she claimed the man was rude to her.
Nikky told Public Hotline that the incident happened yesterday morning.
"It was roughly around 10.15am and I was still upstairs in the bathroom while the rest of the family members were in their own rooms after staying up late at night. Then I heard loud knocking sound of the padlock being repeatedly banged against the gate and a man shouting "Hoi! Hoi! Buka!" she said.
On hearing the noise and shouts, she rushed down to check and saw the man outside in the SESB uniform.
"I then rushed up to call one of my boys to come down to open the gate because I was not properly dressed to go out of the house," she said.
"We ran down again as the man seemed to be agitated and was making a lot of noise outside, "she said, adding that when the meter reader saw her son opening the grill to go out, he (meter reader) snorted loudly "malas betul" (really lazy) and some other rude words," Nikky said.
"When he was in the house compound, we immediately locked our grill and he grumbled loudly. I managed to note his name and when he saw what I was doing, he demanded to know why I wrote down his name.
"He was obviously angry and we just waited for him to hand us the bill, and then closed the door. Only after he had left that my boy went out to lock the gate again," said Nikky.
"This morning's incident was not only scary, it was also an embarrassment because some of the neighbours even peeped through their windows to see what the commotion was all about.
"I would not blame them because my first fear today when I heard the meter reader's shouts was that of an 'ah long' (loan shark) coming the wrong address," she said.
Nikky hoped that SESB would educate their staff to be more courteous for the benefit of both parties.
She also hoped that the SESB would not send the same guy to the area in the future.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for SESB, when contacted over the matter, assured that the complaint by the residents will be forwarded to the unit concerned so that action can be taken.