MASA WILL RESIST ANY ATTEMPTS TO REMOVE THE CABOTAGE POLICY

 Kota Kinabalu: The Malaysia Shipowners Association (Masa) said it will resist any attempts to remove the cabotage policy, claiming that scrapping it could cause huge collateral damage to the Malaysian shipping industry and undermine national interests.

Masa Chairman Nordin Mat Yusoff said if high shipping cost was the only reason, one could assume that when shipping cost declines, the prices of goods would likewise drop.

"But this has not been the case; total ocean freight rates declined by about 41 per cent in the last six months in Peninsular Malaysia-Sabah/Sarawak trade but this has not been reflected in the landed prices of consumer goods," he said in a statement.

The Federation of Sabah Manufacturers had also urged the Government to remove the cabotage policy on account of its negative effect on goods prices in Sabah.

Masa said it had identified eight other cost components in the transport chain from the exporter to importer and the charges include, among others, port charges, forwarding, trucking, storage and terminal handling charges.

Urging the manufacturers and producers not to confuse the central issue, he said Masa was willing to sit down with relevant government agencies as well as manufacturers and producers in Sabah and Sarawak to help jointly identify and examine related costs in the transportation pipeline together with other players in the link.