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‘Govt must subsidise transport to Sabah’

The federal government must provide proof that
freight charges have no impact on the price of
consumer goods in Sabah.
By Azman Habu of FMT
TAWAU: The federal government must subsidise trans-shipment of goods to Sabah in order to standardise the prices of consumer goods in the state with that in Peninsular Malaysia.
Tawau MP Chua Soon Bui said talks have been going on for years with no solution in sight while consumers have been forced to cough up more money for goods that are cheaper in the peninsula.
“If the federal government can afford to subsidise the toll charges on federal highways for billions of ringgits, there’s no reason why the same cannot be done for transport to Sabah as a result of the cabotage policy,” she said over the weekend.
She said such a move was only appropriate and fair to the people of Sabah since the federal government had until today refused to abolish the cabotage policy which had resulted in a high-cost of doing business and living in Sabah.
Chua said the people of Sabah are being grossly shortchanged by the federal government despite the fact that Sabah is contributing significantly to the federal coffers through its oil and gas resources since 1976.
On the Transport Ministry’s rejection that the price difference between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah is due to the cabotage policy, she said the ministry must provide proof that freight charges have no impact on the price of consumer goods in Sabah.
Chua also admonished fellow Sabah MP Abdul Rahim Bakri for dismissing the cabotage policy as a non-issue.
She described Abdul Rahim’s remark in Parliament last month in his capacity as the deputy transport minister that the issue was merely being “played up” by certain quarters, as inconsiderate and an insult to the people of Sabah.
“As a Sabahan himself, Abdul Rahim, who is the MP for Kudat, should realise that the cabotage policy is a real and pressing issue which has been the underlying cause for the high consumer goods prices, thus contributing to a high cost of living in Sabah since the policy was introduced in 1980,” she said.

Double-tongued federal government
The cabotage policy is seen as the main cause of inflation in Sabah, with the business sector arguing that the federal policy has contributed to the high cost of doing business in the state.
The business community in Sabah, especially those in the manufacturing industry, has repeatedly denounced the policy as anti-business and has made a series of calls through the Federation of Sabah Manufacturers (FSM) for its revocation.
“I am disappointed that the federal government has no intention at all to address the high transport cost faced by Sabah and Sarawak business sectors.
Chua, who is also a vice-president of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), said the government was playing with words when it announced that the cabotage policy has been liberalised.
The transport ministry claims that foreign cargo vessels can ship directly to Sabah, but at the same time says that containers once unpacked cannot be re-shipped to Sabah on foreign vessels.
Also under the current system, cargo unloaded at Sepangar Port must then be reloaded and transported by other means to the east coast thus inevitably raising the cost of goods.
“Why must foreign cargo vessels which arrive at Sepangar Port be prohibited from proceeding to Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau?” Chua asked.
Chua said the federal government should explain how the monopolistic policy had benefited local industries because up to now it has been been evasive on the issue.

45 comments:

  1. Hopefully the transport ministry will help reduce the shipment fees to Sabah so that the people here can enjoy the same prices of goods as in West Malaysia.

    http://sabah-go-green.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hope we will see the good news soon..

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    2. Ya, harap ada berita baik dar kerajaan kepada rakyat berkenaan isu kabotaj ini.

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    3. Kabotaj memang membebankan rakyat untuk membeli barangan yang mahal.

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  2. A review on the Cabotage policy is needed, abolish the rules that cause the cost of goods in our states to increase.

    http://sabah-go-green.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diharapkan polisi kabotaj boleh dipertimabang semula supaya tidak lagi membebankan rakyat Sabah dan Sarawak.

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    2. betul tu...dasar kabotaj ini menyusahkan dan membebankan rakyat di sabah dan sarawak...

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    3. dasar kabotaj dikatakan meningkatkan kos hidup di Sabah. dasar ini harus dikaji semula.

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    4. Semoga kerajaan mencari langkah untuk memansuhkan polisi kabotaj, is mendatangkan lebih banyak masalah kepada rakyat di Sabah.

      Delete
  3. Semoga harga barangan di Sabah dan Sarawak boleh diselaraskan dengan harga barangan di Semenanjung.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ianya dapat dilakukan sekiranya kos pengangkutan dapat dikurangkan...harap kerajaan akan ada penyelesaiannya demi rakyat..

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    2. Demi rakyat, kerajaan harus mengambil langkah untuk selaraskan harga barangan di Sabah.

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    3. Make it fair..

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  4. Kita menggunakan mata wang yang sama dalam satu negara, tapi kenapa kos barang dan kos kehidupan jauh berbeza.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. adalah faktor2 nya tu antaranya ialah dasar kabotaj...harga barangan dan gaji antara sabah dan SM harus diseragamkan..

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    2. Ada yang cakap polisi kabotaj bukan punca harga barang tinggi? Betulkah?

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  5. bagus juga jika diberikan subsidi..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JIka di beri subsidi, pasti berita ini mengembirakan rakyat Sabah.

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  6. diharapkan kerajaan akan mencari penyelesaian untuk menyeragamkan harga barangan di sabah dengan di SM...kan kita dalam satu negara...1Malaysia, 1Harga..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kerajaan kena prihatin dengan nasi rakyat Sabah yang terpaksa menanggung beban sebegini sedangkan Sabah mampu menjana ekonomi lebih tinggi jika polisi kabotaj diubah atau dimasuhkan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kerajaan pasti akan sentiasa mengutamakan rakyat, pasti isu ini akan di beri perhatian.

      Delete
  8. seharusnya harga barangan di seluruh negara diselaraskan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jika benar, taraf kehidupan dan beban rakyat akan berkurangan.

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  9. Harap isu kabotaj dapat di kaji semula.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Betul, cuma kabotaj dimansuhkan yang memanfaatkan rakyat.

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    2. baguslah..jangan saja disalahguna.

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  10. Harga barangan dan gaji di Sabah juga harus di kaji semula, barangan semakin meningat, namum gaji masih tetap sama.Namun saya percaya, pasti akan ada tindakan susulan dari kerajaan.

    ReplyDelete
  11. With cabotage, who actually gaining the benefit?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shipping company will be the great winner.

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  12. Kos pengangkutan menjadi unsur utama harga barangan melambung tinggi di Sabah.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tapi sebenarnya ada juga peniaga yang ambil kesempatan mengaut untung lebih.

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    2. peniaga yang sengaja menaikkan harga barang patut dikenakan tindakan tegas.

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  13. Itu juga sebab 1 kedai Malaysia dibina?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. kedai 1Malaysia wajar diperbanyakkan lagi.

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  14. Subsidy yang banyak cuma membebankan kerajaan sedangkan hutang negara dah lah semakin bertambah.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jangan bergantung sangat dengan subsidi dan bantuan kerajaan.nti lain kali bila tiba2 semua tu ditarik balik, rakyat memang sangat terasa.

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  15. mungkin pekara ini akan dipertimbangkan dngan sebaiknya kelak.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. harap apa yang baik untuk rakyat akan dapat dilaksanakan.

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  16. kepentingan dan keperluan rakyat harus sentiasa diutamakan.

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  17. Saya sokong dengan cadangan artikel ini. Bolehkan kerajaan melakukannya?

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  18. Perbezaan harga memang dapat kita lihat di Sabah dan Semenanjung. Apa yang berlaku kalau bukan kerana kabotaj polisi itu.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Bukan saja kenderaan yang berbeza harga malahan barangan harian pun begitu sama mendapat perbezaan harga. Perkara ini perlu dipandang serius oleh kerajaan kerana rakyat sekarang tahu untuk membezakan apa yang berlaku.

    ReplyDelete
  20. kalau mahu lagi adil, di Sabah juga perlu ada tol.. entah apa agaknya reaksi pemimpin2 SAPP jika sekali jalan, rakyat di Sabah dikenakan tol rm10 atau lebih..

    ReplyDelete
  21. daripada memohon subsidi untuk syarikat2 pengangkutan di Sabah, baik banyakkan kilang2 pengeluaran di Sabah.. dengan cara ini, Sabah tidak perlu lagi mengimport barang makanan atau lain2 barang dari luar Sabah..

    ReplyDelete

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