Rabu, Julai 04, 2012

URGES BREAK ON MONOPOLY OF CEMENT SUPPLY IN SABAH

Long wait for cement

SEPANGGAR July 04, 2012: A purported limit imposed by Cement Industry Sdn Bhd (CIS) has upset lorry drivers statewide, some of whom have been made to wait for nearly a week outside its premises for supply.

"Before we only had to wait two to three hours," said 45-year-old Voo Chung Phew, when met, Tuesday.

Voo, a lorry driver from Keningau for more than 10 years, said: "There are more than 150 lorries from various companies statewide parked along the road outside the premises. Some have been waiting here for nearly a week."

According to Voo, their problem arose when CIS started to impose a maximum quota of 3,000 tonnes per day since two weeks ago.

"A total of 1,200 tonnes quota is given for lorries which transport cement packed in 50kg bags, while the remaining 1,800 tonnes are for lorry tankers," he said.

"Now we have only until 5pm to collect the stock, usually it would be open until 11pm.

Thus the reason why there are a lot of us waiting here," he said, adding many were forced to sleep in their lorries.

Fellow lorry driver, Ripin Biding, 49, from Sepanggar, echoed Voo's views.

"We have been receiving complaints from our customers because of the late cement delivery, but what to doÉwe have no choice but to wait for our turn," he said.

"I hope something would be done about this soon. I also have a family to go home to," he said, adding he has been waiting for nearly three days.

Meanwhile, DAP Sabah again called on the Government to allow other companies to supply cement to overcome shortages and ensure no slowdown in the State's construction industry.

"As far as we are concerned CIS, as a government-linked company, has failed," he said.

DAP Sabah reminded that a monopolistic business is not conducive.

"The cement supply and shipping cabotage policy are examples of monopolistic businesses and they are causing delays, hardship and price increase.

"At the end of the day, the consumers suffer. The company does not care as it is unaffected.

With competition in the market this situation will be different. Competition in business brings about efficiency in service and supply," he said, adding it usually leads to lowering of price, which benefits the consumers.

-------------

Low on sugar

DAP urges break on monopoly of cement supply in Sabah

24 ulasan:

  1. Hope that the monopoly on the cement supply in the state will be stopped so that it will not cause inconvenience to developers when getting the supplies.

    BalasPadam
  2. The authorities should approach the Cement Industry Sdn Bhd regarding the newly imposed quota for maximum 3000 tonnes per day.

    BalasPadam
  3. Selesaikan isu mengenai monopoly berlaku. Tidak patut ini berlaku.

    BalasPadam
  4. monopoly tak harus berlaku.. ia harus dihentikan.

    BalasPadam
  5. Monopoli hanya menguntungkan pihak tertentu saja. rasanya perlu dihapuskan, sama seperti dasar kabotaj.

    BalasPadam
  6. Tahun lalu lagi berlaku kekurangan simen. dikatakan kekurangan bekalan ini disebabkan kelewatan dalam bekalan bahan mentah untuk kilang mengisar.

    BalasPadam
  7. kurang2kan la monopoli di negeri ini.. sama juga la macam Astro.. bila tidak ada pesaing, mereka tidak perlu kisah dengan kualiti perkhidmatan, bayaran, kecekapan dan sebagainya..

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Lebih baik ada beberapa syarikat yang handle simen supaya ada persaingan

      Padam
  8. lambat laun, gara2 monopoli ini, ekonomi negeri akan terbantut dan terus berada di belakang berbanding dengan negeri2 lain..

    BalasPadam
  9. Local cement manufacturers have decided to raise their prices of the building material, mirroring an earlier move by the country's largest producer, Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd, according to Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) president Matthew Tee.

    BalasPadam
  10. Masalah monopoli simen ni perlu diselesaikan

    BalasPadam
  11. He told StarBiz via text message that “all cement producers have increased prices”, an outcome widely expected by industry players after a 6% hike by Lafarge. This excludes Sarawak-based CMS Cement Sdn Bhd, which has said it will maintain prices at the current level.

    BalasPadam
  12. MBAM secretary-general Chuan Yeong Ming also said over the phone that the quantum of increase varied between companies, while in terms of timeline, some had imposed it yesterday and the rest should follow soon.“We have gotten complaints from our members that this is happening,” he said.

    BalasPadam
  13. Another industry source pointed out that although there has yet to be black and white to substantiate the new rates, ready-mix concrete firms had already jacked up prices in anticipation of more expensive cement. Meanwhile, the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) said it has put the cement industry on its watchlist.

    BalasPadam
  14. A spokesperson told StarBiz this was not tantamount to a probe or official investigation, but the commission would be keeping a close eye on any developments that might be in breach of the Competition Act 2010. She added that so far, no party had stepped forward to lodge an official complaint with MyCC on the matter.

    BalasPadam
  15. After receiving a tip-off from its members last week, MBAM had warned of a plan by a “major” manufacturer to raise the list price of cement in the Klang Valley by RM1 per 50kg bag and RM20 per tonne for bulk cement from RM16.75 and RM320 currently. The last time prices were higher was in March 2011 when it also increased by 6%.

    BalasPadam
  16. MBAM, which represents the construction industry, stressed that price increases would be passed on to end-users and home buyers, adding it saw no reason for higher prices as production costs had fallen during the year.

    BalasPadam
  17. It also urged MyCC and the Government to investigate whether there had been an abuse of dominant position by the cement maker in question.

    BalasPadam
  18. According to reports, the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association had said the construction cost of a terrace house would climb by RM1,000-RM2,000 following the price hike, hurting affordability in a market already reeling from spiralling property prices. In addition, the cement makers were accused of colluding with each other to create an artificial shortfall in supply.

    BalasPadam
  19. There are only six cement producers in Malaysia, namely YTL Cement Bhd, Tasek Corp Bhd, Cement Industries of Malaysia Bhd, Lafarge, CMS Cement, and Holcim (M) Sdn Bhd.
    Lafarge, which has a 40% share of the market, confirmed on Tuesday it was raising prices.

    BalasPadam
  20. Its executive director Chen Theng Aik, however, denied the collusion claims, saying its decision was prompted by higher costs and a shutdown of its plants that resulted in lower production. On the back of this news, the company has been upgraded by at least two research houses.

    BalasPadam
  21. In upgrading the stock to “outperform” from “market perform”, RHB Research Institute said it saw the price hike as a “reflection of an improving demand picture in the local cement industry backed by key public infrastructure projects”, including KLIA2, the Light Rail Transit line extension, Tanjung Bin power plant extension, Manjung power plant extension, and My Rapid Transit. “This allows cement producers to flex their pricing muscle,” it said in a client note.

    BalasPadam
  22. The brokerage remarked that cement producers were not under any significant cost pressure of late as the price of coal, which makes up between 30% and 40% of production costs, was about 17% lower than last year.

    BalasPadam
  23. Notably, CIMB Research highlighted in a report the possibility of Lafarge reversing the price hike given public pressure from MBAM as well as political factors, what with the looming national polls.

    BalasPadam