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New barter trade system
Published on: Tuesday, August 27, 2019
By: Larry Ralon
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New barter trade system
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal is confident the new barter trade system between Malaysia (Sabah), Indonesia and Philippines which he launched, Monday, will not only boost trade relations between the three countries but also create more entrepreneurs and products.  

 The system which had been refined with five new approaches for better management, monitoring and security, is also expected to boom when the Indonesian Government moves its national capital to East Kalimantan. 

 Among the approaches is to remove the previous restriction on types and volumes of items to be traded between the three countries, Shafie who is also State Finance Minister told a press conference at the State Administration Centre (PPNS) building.

 Earlier, he also chaired a meeting involving the Finance Ministry as well as Federal and State government departments and agencies as well as barter traders involved in the implementation of the new system. Consul-General of Indonesia in Kota Kinabalu, Krishna Djelani, was also present. 

“What we launched today is one of the initiatives which have been long awaited by especially entrepreneurs involved in barter trade between the three countries.

 “We have refined (barter trade system). We have studied thoroughly the previous barter trade, the approaches and monitoring aspects and refined them, and we all have agreed on them

 “I am confident there will a lot of benefits from this barter trade. It will not only boost trade relations between the three, but also create more entrepreneurs and products, as well as employment opportunities,” he said. 

 According to him, the matter had been discussed up to the Asean level in Bangkok last year, where an agreement had been sealed including on the regulations like on the use of ships which all the countries involved have agreed to comply with the set terms.

 “These are not to tighten up the existing regulations but to enable like the transporting of goods will go according to schedule and goods can be transported and reach the destinations safely. 

 “It is also to enable us identify what types of goods and the types of transportation used so to make the monitoring  easy.

We do not want any trading or good shipment activities done without complete information. We do not want to see anything happen to the goods and its shipment, like the volume of goods when it reached the destination, are not the same as what had been stated.

“We need to ensure the specification of all the items to be involved in this trade has been identified and approved, and certified by the authorities not only in Malaysia but also in Philippines and Indonesia,” he said. 

 Shafie also hoped all the barter traders would comply with the set regulations so that the activity would be sustainable for all and for preserving the good image of the three countries. 

 To a question, he said a special committee and technical committee have been set up under his Finance Ministry, involving Federal and State ministries and related departments and agencies to ensure smooth implementation of barter trade. 

“At the Sabah state-level, we also involved the Consulate-General of Indonesia and officials from both the other countries. We want their true inputs so we can refine where it is needed.

 “Also for the monitoring purpose I am confident that the authorities concerned have the experience and capable of fulfilling their respective responsibilities,” he said.





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