Malaysia fortifies trade routes

Malaysia has taken the necessary measures to address the need for a strong supply chain mechanism in the freight forwarding industry, says Anthony Loke.

The Transport Minister said Malaysia is working towards providing the industry with an all-­encompassing logistics network to establish a strong supply chain mechanism.

“We all know that the world is being impacted by a lot of disruptions right now, so supply chain resilience is the keyword for your customers,” said Loke at the launch of Germany-based Tailwind Shipping Lines GmbH & Co KG intra-Asia regional hub at Northport here yesterday.

He assured industry players that they need not worry when disruptions occur in the South China Sea waters, as having a hub at Port Klang is an option to counter the problem.

Loke noted that Port Klang is located at a very strategic point in the Straits of Malacca, and when people arrive there, they are not merely coming to Malaysia, but connecting bet­ween Europe and Asia via sea and land.

The minister added that the East Coast Rail Link project will also connect Port Klang to the east coast states of Peninsular Malaysia when it is ready in two to three years.

“More importantly, we also want to link up all the river networks not only within Malaysia, but all the way to Thailand.

“Why Thailand? Because the moment we link with Thailand, we can link to the entire Asian continent,” said Loke.

He added that moving up to the north from Thailand will result in arrival in Laos, where freight can go all the way to China.

“That is what we envision from the Pan-Asian river network, which means if you come to Port Klang or have a box or container coming from Europe, you can basically reach any part of Asia or vice versa,” said Loke.

He also said the Transport Ministry is creating a more pro-business environment by simplifying the various processes required for shipping lines to come here.

“We have implemented the Malaysia Maritime Single Window and when your ships call at a port, it is very simple and easy,” said Loke.

Also present at the event were Tailwind Shipping Lines chief executive officer Christian Stangl and MMC Port Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Azman Shah Mohd Yusof.

Source: The Star