LABUAN (April 18): Transportation costs and logistics are among the factors contributing to the rise in prices of some goods in the duty-free-island here, said Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
“There are issues that have impacted the prices of consumer goods in Labuan, such as logistic and transportation, in addition to bureaucracy that can be a bit of a hassle to traders.
“Maybe we need to look at them closely…perhaps we can find ways to reduce the cost of doing business that contributes to the rising prices of goods here,” he told reporters after visiting business premises at Financial Park Complex, here on Monday.
Nanta said the hike in prices of consumers goods did not only occur in Labuan but also in several areas in the country.
“We will conduct a brainstorming session with the ministry’s high-level officers based on the feedback that we received and come up with a better solution. It is not going to be easy as there are so many factors (that contribute to the rising prices of goods), including those that are beyond the ministry’s control,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nanta said the cabotage policy did not contribute to the rising prices of goods.
“For several years, the cabotage policy had been liberalised but it (the rising prices of goods) is likely contributed by the current economic situation,” he said.
He said the rising prices of goods could be resolved if all the items are delivered directly to the Labuan port, instead of going through several ports.
“I think ships are not calling at the Labuan port directly (for example) from Port Klang because of the shipping cost…nevertheless Labuan is a nice place, I hope the federal government will pay more attention to the overall development of Labuan,” he said.-Bernama