Three chambers disagree on Labuan port tender decision
LABUAN: Three chambers of commerce here are against the Labuan Port Authority’s (LPA) decision to tender the terminal management and operations, describing it as a ‘hasty’.
The Labuan Indian Chamber of Commerce (LICC), Labuan Chinese Chamber of Commerce (LCCC) and the Labuan Malay Entrepreneurs Chamber (DUML) said the LPA was just established this year and has yet to assess the performance of the current port operator, Labuan Liberty Port Management Sdn Bhd (LLPM).
LICC president, Datuk Daliph Singh, said LLPM, the long-serving port operator, should be given the opportunity to run the port for a period of time and perform to the authority’s expectation.
“The LPA was set up early this year, and we believe it has yet to know the operations of the port better. It is advisable for LPA to allow LLPM to operate the port for at least five years,” he told Bernama yesterday.
He said LLPM has been operating since 1998, and that was when the port has not performed according to the port standard until the operator managed to introduce the system which smoothened the port container handling operation, with increased assets.
“LLPM, being a local operator, should continue to manage the port, unless it fails to perform. Getting other operators from outside Labuan to run the port is tantamount to jeopardise local interest in the long run,” Singh said.
He said the Minister of Transport was the right person to decide on who should run the port without having to compromise on local interest.
Meanwhile, LCCC president, Datuk Wong Kee Yee, said the chamber’s observation showed that most Labuan-based companies contributed back to the community through corporate social responsibility programmes and LLPM has done a splendid job in that context.
DUML president, Datuk Seri Mohd Alias Abd Rahman, echoed LCCC’s sentiments that the existing operator had performed to its best, including investing millions in allocation to establish an inland depot and warehousing facility outside the port to ease congestion at the existing terminal yard.
“The local operator has increased the port’s assets value worth millions and improved the container handling without depending on the government’s fund,” he said.
The LPA was set up early this year, and we believe it has yet to know the operations of the port better. It is advisable for LPA to allow LLPM to operate the port for at least five years. Datuk Daliph Singh, LICC President