Govt correct to discontinue national load centre shipping policy

 

I applaud transport minister Loke Siew Fook’s decision, approved by the Cabinet, to dismantle the one-sided shipping policy favouring Port Klang as the national load centre.

On Friday, the minister announced the discontinuation of the national load centre policy, introduced in the 1990s, which aimed at centralising all cargo movements at Port Klang.

In reality, the national load centre concept lost its relevance two decades ago with the emergence of Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor, and the expansion of the ports at Bintulu and Sepanggar Bay in Sarawak and Sabah, respectively.

Mainline shipping operators 

These three ports have been receiving direct mainline shipping operators and intra-Asian regional lines directly, bypassing Port Klang.

The special treatment accorded to Port Klang at the expense of other ports has not been well-received by the shipping and port communities, particularly those on the eastern seaboard of Malaysia.

I always considered it a poorly conceived policy, and have consistently criticised its one-sided approach favouring Port Klang, citing reasons rooted in trade economics and logistical dynamics.

A shift in Malaysia’s trade routes from west to east, driven by the emergence of Taiwan, China and South Korea as shipping powerhouses, have reshaped the maritime landscape.

This shift has offered opportunities for PTP, as well as the ports at Kuantan, Bintulu and Sepanggar Bay, to develop, with many international shipping lines directly calling at them.

For that reason, attempts to funnel goods through Port Klang by making it the national load centre have become futile.

It is economically and logistically impractical to force cargo from Sabah and Sarawak to first go through Port Klang before reaching countries like Vietnam, Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan.

Trade growth 

The shipping community has welcomed the minister’s announcement, aligning with the reality of trade situations, promoting practicality and providing growth opportunities for various other ports in the country.

The phenomenal trade growth among the countries on Malaysia’s eastern seaboard, especially in terms of container trades, allows both old and new Malaysian ports to tap into this trend, fostering beneficial and progressive development.

Industrial land development potential is also another factor that may attract international companies and investors to consider new emerging ports as their new sites for factories, manufacturing plants or distribution hubs.

Land costs, which forms a big chunk of their investment, will be much cheaper in the areas surrounding these new and emerging ports – another important consideration as far as international logistics distribution is concerned. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.