KOTA KINABALU: The Federal Government needs to ensure adequate and timely funding is given to Sabah to take advantage of the discontinuation of Port Klang as the National Load Centre, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said today.
He said Putrajaya must now reassess its priorities on the ports and maritime to tap into the potential of Sabah’s strategic maritime route location.
“Sabah and Sepanggar Port sit strategically at the centre of the Asean region and the gateway to the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) region.
“Sabah sits at the gateway to a relatively underdeveloped region but which holds tremendous potential, more so with the shifting of the Indonesia capital city of Nusantara in Eastern Kalimantan and the growth and stability of the Moro Autonomous Region in Southern Philippines.
“With the discontinuation of Port Klang as the National Load Centre, opening up other Malaysian ports, especially the ports in Sabah, will lead to further development in Sabah, especially in the logistics and maritime industry,” he said in a statement.
According to Jeffrey, he had previously twice asked Putrajaya to declare the Sepanggar Container Port to be elevated as the second National Load Centre after Port Klang.
He said both requests had been denied as he believed the federal authorities may have failed to see the economic and socioeconomic benefits and spin-offs should the Sabah port be elevated to the status.
“Having Sepanggar Port as the second national load centre would have opened up new logistics, business and economic opportunities, leading Sabah and Sepanggar to be the logistics and maritime hub for the BIMP-EAGA and wider Asean region,” he said.
Citing the delayed policy change as magnanimous, Jeffrey said he will look into ways to enhance the state’s infrastructure and business opportunities with the development of a fishing port and downstream processing in line with Sabah’s vision to develop the Sabah Blue Economy.
Sabah industrial proponents have welcomed the federal government’s decision to discontinue Port Klang as the sole National Load Centre with cautious optimism, stating that much work needs to be done to woo shipping liners to call at the ports in Sabah.
State Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe believed the Sabah government now needed to develop more policies to make it attractive for shipping companies to come to Sabah, while assisting local manufacturers to up their trade to intensify exports.
Sabah Employers Association president Yap Cheen Boon, meanwhile, said more should be done by the federal government to make it cost-effective for local manufacturers to begin exporting their products.
Yap also said foreign direct investments alone will not be sufficient to woo shipping companies to call in Sabah as the semi-finished goods produced by such foreign companies in Sabah still leave limited opportunities for local export factories.
Last Friday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke had announced that the National Load Centre Policy, introduced in the 1990s to centralise cargo services in Port Klang, is no longer applicable.
