KOTA KINABALU: There is already a plan to include Sepanggar Port into the port alliance which consists of 10 Chinese ports and several other ports in Malaysia, said Minister of Special Tasks, Datuk Teo Chee Kang.
Teo said he had checked with Kuala Lumpur and learned that this subject was already on the meeting table pending to be firmed up in due course.
He said this when asked by the press to comment on Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sabah secretary Chan Foong Hin’s statement that the federal government has no intention to develop the Sepanggar Port.
Teo, who is also president of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said Chan eventually came up with the clarification that he is not opposing his suggestion to establish strategic partnership between the Sepanggar Port and ports in China.
“I thank Chan for his concerns on this issue. However, if he supports the move, just simply say support. Why jump the gun to attack the federal government with unsubstantiated accusations that they have no intention to develop our Sepanggar Port?”
In the LDP Congress in 2014, Teo said Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak had received favourably his open request for the upgrading and promoting of Sepanggar Port into a regional transhipment hub.
In fact, in less than two weeks’ time, the State Economic Planning Unit received a letter from the Ministry of Transport calling for a meeting to look into the said proposal, he said.
“Since then, a lot of follow-ups were done until we secured the RM1.1 billion allocation for such purpose. I am not saying that RM1.1 billion is enough, but let’s do things one at a time. Therefore, why question the federal government’s sincerity to develop our port?” Teo asked.
“I have checked with Kuala Lumpur, in fact, there is already a plan to include Sepanggar Port into the port alliance which consists of 10 Chinese ports and several other ports in Malaysia.
“This subject is already on the meeting table pending to be firmed up in due course,” he added.