Allow international shipment to disembark directly in Sabah: Shareda

Kota Kinabalu, Feb 28, 2009: The Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) has joined the chorus calling for the abolition of the Cabotage Policy.

Its Secretary-General Datuk Susan Wong said the Federal Government should scrap the policy in order to stop monopolisation by shipping cartels in Malaysia.

"This policy has prevented direct import or export of cargoes to or from Sabah and Sarawak," she said at a recent roundtable discussion organised by the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) Sabah.

She said the policy has only resulted in the cost of material and goods in Sabah and Sarawak to be higher between 20 per cent and 30 per cent compared to goods in Peninsular Malaysia.

Because of the policy, she said goods must be exported or imported through transhipment to or from Port Klang in the peninsula.

Wong, who is also Managing Director of Mega Sunwise Sdn Bhd suggested that an open policy be implemented to allow international shipment to disembark directly in Sabah and Sarawak.

This, she said, would lower the costly freight charges in the two states.

"This is so that we will enjoy same freight charges as in Peninsular Malaysia...we wish to have one country-one rate," she said.

Subsequently, she said it would push industry in Sabah to survive including the property sector.

On Wednesday, the Federation of Sabah Manufacturers (FSM) said if the Cabotage Policy is still in effect, Sabah would never achieve its ambition to become a leading port hub in the region.

Its President Datuk Wong Khen Thau envisioned that if the policy were removed, unemployment in Sabah would be reduced.

The people in Sabah and Sarawak, he said, have been adversely affected by the policy since the establishment of Port Klang as the national load centre in 1984.

President of Federation Sabah Chinese Associations (FSCA), Datuk Seri Sari Nuar, on the other hand, called for immediate interim policies to formulate acceptable freight rates to address rising costs.

"These freight rates must be subjected to regular review every three or six months, as the legal process of abolishing the Cabotage Policy may take time," he said when expressing support to FSM on Thursday.

He hoped the Federal government would accelerate the decision on the reversal of such policy in the interests of citizens in Sabah.

The Federation, he said had last year, through the office of Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Department, Datuk Edward Khoo, held a dialogue with Transport Minister, Datuk Ong Tee Keat, regarding the inter-relationships between the domestic shipping lines and the prospect of industrial development in Sabah and the high cost of living.

He said the survival of the small and medium enterprises and industries was critical especially with the current global economic situation.