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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Cabotage policy not abolished, just on hold for six months in Sabah, Sarawak

Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Dr James Jemut Masing says after a six-month trial period of exemption from the cabotage policy, the Federal Government will decide if the policy goes for good or remains.
James-Jemut-Masing-sabah-sarawak-cabotageKUCHING: The cabotage policy is not being abolished in Sabah and Sarawak – not just yet.

What has been announced by the Federal Government, explained Sarawak Infrastructure Development and Transportation Minister Dr James Jemut Masing, was that there would be an exemption for Sabah and Sarawak for six months.
Then a decision will be made on whether the policy should be abolished or maintained, according to a report in The Borneo Post.
Prime Minister Najib Razak announced on May 7 that the exemption of the cabotage policy for Sabah and Sarawak as well as Labuan would start from June 1.
Masing told The Borneo Post: “It is an exemption of cabotage policy for a period of six months by the federal government and not total abolishment of the policy in Sarawak.
“Within the six months, Sarawak will gauge the situation without cabotage policy to see if it works. If it does, then the cabotage policy will be abolished. Otherwise, the policy might be here to stay.”
He said this latest decision was made due to the possibility that the abolishment would deprive local shipping companies of business and also for security reasons.
“Without cabotage policy, it means international vessels may call at our local ports. The entry of these international vessels may pose a threat to our security. This is something we must take into consideration,” Masing, who is also a deputy chief minister, said.
The cabotage policy, in force since the 1980s, requires all domestic transshipment of goods to be made using Malaysian vessels. Foreign ships carrying goods for, say, Kuching, have to call at an international port such as Port Klang for transshipment instead of going direct to Kuching.
From Port Klang, Malaysian vessels will take over the shipping responsibility of the goods from the foreign vessel and ship them to Kuching.
This results in extra freight charges and handling expenses, which are passed on to the consumer.
The Sarawak government has been trying to abolish the policy mainly because it wants its people to enjoy cheaper goods.
Local shipping companies are against the abolishment as they say they will be forced out of business. -FMT

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