The cabotage policy will be reintroduced in Sarawak at the request of the Sarawak government, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said this policy aims to support the growth of the domestic shipping industry, particularly in Sarawak, due to the high number of shipping companies and shipbuilding activities present in the state.
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He said this policy aims to support the growth of the domestic shipping industry, particularly in Sarawak, due to the high number of shipping companies and shipbuilding activities present in the state.
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NewsTranscript
00:00There have been many comments on the re-interruption of the Kabotaj policy in 2017.
00:09The Kabotaj policy was rejected in 2017.
00:17At that time, many argued that the issue of Kabotaj or the basis of Kabotaj
00:23did not allow foreign ships to enter the ports of Sabah and Sarawak directly.
00:29The first explanation we gave was incorrect.
00:33There was a basis that Port Clank was a National Load Centre.
00:41But I have stated that we no longer need this basis.
00:46Foreign ships can go to any port in our country, including in Sabah and Sarawak, directly.
00:54It is not a problem.
00:56Kabotaj is used for domestic shipping,
01:00between the ports of Semenanjung and Sabah-Sarawak, or from Sabah-Sarawak to Semenanjung.
01:06For this domestic shipping, each country usually has its own Kabotaj basis.
01:11Kabotaj basis means that it must be used by shipping companies
01:16when there is a shortage of goods in our country's domestic area.
01:21Between Port Clank and ports in Sarawak and Sabah, there is usually a Kabotaj.
01:28This is the same concept as domestic shipping.
01:32For domestic shipping from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching,
01:36we do not allow any international shipping companies.
01:39Only Malaysian shipping companies can provide this service,
01:44between Semenanjung and Sabah-Sarawak.
01:47But if a foreign shipping company wants to go directly to Sabah-Sarawak,
01:53it is not a problem.
01:54Singapore Airlines can fly directly to Kuching.
01:57China Airlines can fly directly to Sabah.
01:59Korea Airlines can fly directly to Sabah.
02:02That is what needs to be understood.
02:05What is the difference in Kabotaj basis.
02:08So, in 2017, the government has also excluded Kabotaj.
02:14It allows foreign ships to ship goods between Semenanjung and Sabah-Sarawak.
02:22But does that reduce the cost of goods in Sabah-Sarawak?
02:27The answer is not so. It helps.
02:30But there is a negative effect.
02:33The negative effect is when we open this competition,
02:36when this domestic service is opened to foreign shipping companies,
02:41many local shipping companies can't compete.
02:45They can't compete.
02:47So, many shipping companies are down.
02:50So, we have seen that the fleet in our country
02:54and the domestic shipping companies are declining.
02:58So, that is the negative effect when we exclude Kabotaj basis for domestic shipping.
03:04Why is that? How many foreign companies are now in Malaysia
03:09and do business from west to east?
03:12It's hard to say.
03:14Because all foreign shipping companies are in our country.
03:18Except Zim, which we don't allow.
03:21All foreign shipping companies in the world.
03:24Merck, MSC,
03:26Hapaloy,
03:28Costco,
03:29SITC,
03:30you name it.
03:33Evergreen,
03:35Wanhai,
03:36O&E.
03:37All of these are international shipping companies
03:40that are in our port.
03:42So, sometimes, from Peninsular Malaysia,
03:45they have a loop service.
03:47They go from Peninsular Malaysia to Sarawak, then Sabah,
03:50then they go to Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, etc.
03:54So, some of these have a loop service.
03:56But we don't know how many of them do it.
03:59Sometimes they do it, sometimes they don't.
04:02So, it's very hard to say.
04:04But the Sarawak government feels that
04:07it is important to reintroduce the Kabotaj policy
04:10because we need to protect our local shipping industry as well.
04:14Because in Sarawak, there are a lot of shipping companies based in Sarawak.
04:18And Sarawak also has a ship building industry.
04:22There is an industry that repairs ships.
04:25So, if we don't have domestic ships,
04:28how can we have a business?
04:31It repairs ships.
04:33If we don't have ships, how can we have a business to repair ships?
04:38So, those are the effects it has.
04:41There are a lot of effects on our country's industry.
04:43So, if we take all of those considerations into account,
04:46the government decides to reintroduce the Kabotaj policy for Sarawak.
04:50Sabah is still excluded.
04:53Sabah, because the government of Sabah
04:56does not agree to reintroduce the Kabotaj policy.
04:58So, we respect the decision of the government of Sabah.
05:01So, right now, it's only Sarawak that we reintroduce the Kabotaj policy.