KUCHING: Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh has joined the bandwagon to support the abolishment of the Cabotage Policy, which he said is the right thing to do.
“Of course (abolishing the Cabotage Policy) will be a good thing because it will affect (reduce) the pricing of goods and so on…so it is a good thing and I agree,” Wong said yesterday.
Earlier, he received a courtesy call from The Federation of Chinese Associations, Sarawak (Women Section) led by its president Mary Tay at his office in Bangunan Baitulmakmur, Petra Jaya here.
Wong felt that abolishing the Cabotage Policy is part of the autonomy right of the state.
“In a way, abolishing the policy (Cabotage Policy) is part of our autonomy right because the state doesn’t want them (federal government) to impose extra burden on us,” Wong stressed. He, however, said the state government has to put its case to the federal government to abolish the policy.
Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, Trade and Investment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan reportedly said on Wednesday that abolishing the Cabotage Policy can bring positive impact on timber and sea freight industries besides putting the state at an advantage.
“The move (to abolish Cabotage Policy) will also be good for the state as it will be felt across diverse sectors,” Awang Tengah was quoted to have said.
Agreeing with the abolishment, Assistant Minister for Entrepreneur Development Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais said double handling of shipments made products less competitive in terms of pricing, saying that goods exported and imported are handed twice.
Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg had proposed to the federal government to evaluate the Cabotage Policy when speaking in the ‘Bersama Ketua Menteri Sarawak’ show aired live on TV1 and RTM Kuching on April 24.