Chong (right) talking to a KPA staff.
KUCHING (April 15): There is a need to review the privatisation of services at the Senari Port, said Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
He made this suggestion after visiting the Senari Port yesterday following problems caused by the port’s computer system outage.
Though it was claimed by the Kuching Port Authority (KPA) general manager Robert Lau that the volume of delivery and receiving has returned to the normal rate, Chong said in actual fact there were still containers that could not be located as the computer system was still out.
“As I understand from the ground, the computer system that broke down two weeks ago is still not restored and not in operation. At present, an alternative system is used and certain procedures are still done manually.
“However, the staff of KPA at Senari Port are doing their best to clear the backlog of containers stuck at the port due to the outage.
“While the ground operators are struggling to meet the demand of the customers (i.e. the hauliers, forwarding agents and shipping agents), the top management of KPA should review their policy. This computer system outage is just part of a large problem,” he said.
The Stampin MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman alleged the privatisation of most of the port services implemented few years ago had not brought about much improvement to the services provided by KPA to the users.
“Thus, there is a need to review such privatisation policy,” he said.
On Tuesday, KPA said the Senari Terminal’s port operation had returned to normal following the restoration of its computer system after an outage at the end of last month.
The terminal suffered the computer outage on March 29 which resulted in delays for container delivery.
Since the outage, KPA had implemented alternative procedures to continue its delivery service, which combined manual procedures with on-line application and its back-up server in Pending Terminal.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing said on April 10 that the port’s computer system was damaged by water entering its electronic conduit and that all effort was being made to fix the problem.