'Allow barter trade at least with Kalimantan' plea
Published on: Saturday, May 28, 2016
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Tawau: Sri Tanjong Assemblyman Chan Foong Hin appealed to the Prime Minister to lift the barter trade ban which has been in effect for two months in the State – at least with Indonesian Kalimantan. "Our Prime Minister will visit Tawau tomorrow (today) to launch the Pan Borneo Highway Tawau portion. This is the best time for the business community here to voice out their concerns to the top man of the country," he told a press conference after attending a dialogue co-organised by the Tawau Chinese Chamber Association and Tawau Bumiputera Chamber Hall, here, Friday.
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According to him, the Tawau business community suffered much following the ban, which was a consequence of the latest cross-border kidnapping case two months ago. "Tawau business activities rely heavily on bilateral trading with Indonesian border towns, especially Tarakan and Nunukan."The kidnapping incident was committed by perpetrators from the Philippines and was not related to Indonesia at all.
It's unfair to penalise the Tawau business community if our security personnel have no confidence to safeguard our boundary," he pointed out. He said the barter trade, which has existed for a long time between Tawau and Indonesia, is important for both countries."It's beyond any countries' boundary when there is demand and supply…Now all the licences to do cross-country business must apply through the National Security Council (NSC) with its office located in Kota Kinabalu.
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"Red tape for barter trade licence application would only cause ineffectiveness. Furthermore, business licence applications overseen by NSC is not a long-term measure as the government agency is in charge of security and not business," he said.
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For instance, Chan said NSC intends to make it compulsory for all traders to use steel vessel instead of wooden vessel due to security reasons.
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"However, the noble intention is not suitable to the ground situation, as most of the barter trade activities are small in quantity but frequently transacted," he said. He also urged all Barisan Nasional (BN) elected representatives to join him in voicing out the truth.