Confident MCA man will deliver
Published on: Thursday, March 23, 2017
Labuan: Member of Parliament Datuk Rozman Isli welcomed the appointment of senior MCA politician Datuk Wee Jeck Seng as the chairman of the newly-established Labuan Port Authority (LPA) and is confident that Wee will be able to handle the challenges faced by Labuan Liberty Port."Immediately after he was appointed, we met and he assured that he would complement my efforts in making the Labuan port attractive for ships to call. As such, all should view his appointment positively," said Rozman.As for the Labuan Chinese Chamber of Commerce's (LCCC) earlier suggestion to Federal Territory Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor that the chairman of the authority should be the local serving MP, Rozman said he appreciated the chamber's call.
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"What is important is whoever holds the post has the ability and interest to deliver. "As for me, my position as Labuan MP is good enough to serve all in Labuan and I could bring matters, issues concerning Labuan to the relevant Ministers without being LPA chairman.""Moreover, the port is under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Transport and it is the prerogative of the Minister, who is MCA President, to appoint LPA chairman. "This has been the practice and should not be questioned," he added.
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Wee was appointed to the post last week by Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai for a three-year term from 2017 to 2019, according to a national daily. Wee, who is MP for Tanjung Piai in Johor and previously a member of the Johor State Assembly, had served as Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports.
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The establishment of LPA had come about following the extension of the Bintulu Port Authority Act. Since 2002, the port here had been managed by a local private concern - Labuan Liberty Port Management. It all began when the Federal Land Commission signed a tripartite agreement with the Labuan Chapter of Malaysian Malay Chamber of Commerce and LLPM. Later the chamber assigned all its rights to LLPM and LLPM Labuan became the sole operator of the port.In recent years, the port had come under heavy criticisms from shipping companies and forwards. The complaints centered on unjustified escalation of port charges, which the operator denied.The heaviest blow was when whipping companies imposed fuel surcharge for Labuan cargoes and more recently port congestion surcharge of between RM500 and RM1,000 for 20ft and 40ft containers. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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