Bigger maritime role for Sabah/Sarawak urged

26 September 2005

Sabah and Sarawak can play a bigger role to help fulfill the national objective of turning Malaysia into a leading maritime nation.
 
Stating this, the executive chairman of Halim Mazmin Bhd, Tan Sri Datuk Halim Mohammed, noted that there are specific and niche market opportunities for shipping companies based in the two Malaysian states to foster the expansion of the Malaysian shipping industry.
 
“Shipping companies from Sabah and Sarawak have a niche in coastal shipping, especially in liner trade, offshore supply boats sector,” he told a conference in Kota Kinabalu in his paper on role of Sabah and Sarawak in making Malaysia a leading maritime nation last week.
 
He said the state governments of the two states could encourage and foster the development of the local shipping companies to expand the scope and extent of their shipping services and port coverage.
 
He said the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak should study ways to foster the expansion of shipping companies based in the states these companies by way of looking into more specific incentives to facilitate greater vertical and horizontal integration of these companies, especially into providing “value-added services”.
 
This will include opportunities for these companies with proven track record to provide inland logistics services, like haulage, cargo consolidation and warehousing and even into operating cargo handling terminals, or enter into strategic alliances with ports.
 
Halim also said the development of a cargo load centre either in Sabah or Sarawak should be an important component of the desire to become a maritime nation.
 
He said such a load centre could help foster the development of direct shipping services to a designated port and contribute towards lowering of freight rates to international destinations.
 
“The designated cargo load centre will not only help in creating the national load but invariably also attract cargoes from the neighbouring ports in Indonesia and the Philippines,” he said.
 
Another important sector of the maritime industry that could be further exploited in Sabah and Sarawak, he said was the development of marine engineering related industries, including shipbuilding and repairing.
 
“A concerted and a coordinated approach could be taken to first rehabilitate and rejuvenate some of the existing yards that reveal potential but have fallen behind due to poor management or inadequate capitalization,” he said.
 
Rather than trying to be overly ambitions in a highly competitive international sector, perhaps we have to look into meeting some specialist needs like developing a niche in marine engineering and construction for the oil and gas industries, he noted.
 
Halim also highlighted on the need universities and institutions of higher learning in the states to be actively involved in R&D on issues affecting the maritime industry.

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