By William Isau
SIBU, Feb 18: The Sarawak and Sabah Shipowners Association (SSSA) has been urged to work with the Ministry of Transport Sarawak (MOTS) to educate the public due to their misunderstanding of the cabotage policy, said Sarawak Deputy Minister of Transport, Dato Henry Harry Jinep.
“I want the shipping industry to work together with MOTS on getting the people to understand the importance of the cabotage policy,” he said at the SSSA 34th Executive Committee 2023-2024 Installation Ceremony cum 2023 Chinese New Year celebration, where he represented Sarawak Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin last night (Feb 17).
He also said that the public should not blame the cabotage policy for the higher price of goods due to freight charges, elaborating that the policy has been loosened effective June 1, 2017.
The policy, which began in 1980, limits the shipment of goods from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah and Sarawak to only Malaysian-flagged ships. However, the policy would still apply to cargo shipping operations within Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan.
“I saw on social media (contents) that the price of goods has risen due to the cabotage policy.
“It went viral on TikTok, and it can be bad for the government, policymakers, and stakeholders. It is easy to understand the policy by looking it up, but we need to find another way for them (the public) to understand,” he said.
Meanwhile, newly appointed SSSA chairman Yong Ing Huong said that as Sarawak’s land transport system has not been completed, many traders and merchants still heavily depend on maritime transport to solve their logistics problems.
“Even if one day the landside system has been upgraded, the transportation of heavy and bulky cargo such as steel bars, gravel, and sand would still be more economical by ship, as we have a lot of natural river channels and long coastlines suitable for ship navigation.
“Ships operating also provide growth momentum to the supporting industries such as ports and harbours, marine hardware, shipbuilding and repairing, and more. At present, our membership stands at more than 100, operating more than 2,500 ships.
“And this is about 65 per cent of the national fleet in numbers of the ship. We could say Sarawak and Sabah own and operate the major portion of Malaysian ships; we are providing an important service to the country,” he said. — DayakDaily
