PETALING JAYA: There are no restrictions to maritime trade between Malaysia and Indonesia using small vessels, says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong.
The statement by Muhammad Muhsinin Dolisada, an Indonesian Consul in Sabah, pertaining to the use of wooden hull ships and smaller vessels in Malaysian and Indonesian waters by linking them with the cabotage policy is inaccurate and confusing, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic) said.
Wee said Muhammad had erred in his statement, published by several media organisations, by linking the issue with Malaysia’s cabotage policy, adding that instead, it pertained to non-convention vessels from Indonesia
The cabotage policy of Malaysia hampers larger volume of trade between Sabah and Indonesia, now being conveyed by wooden hull ships and smaller vessels not classified under IMO steel hull vessels restricted by cabotage limits, off Sabah’s Tawau waters and Indonesia’s Kalimantan