Malaysia can be logistics gateway for ASEAN

As you know of all the Asean countries, Malaysia has the most number of Asean neighbours. This is because Malaysia share land and borders with Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, and Malaysia also share a sea border with the Philippines, which can be crossed very easily.

 

Even today, Malaysia is already playing the gateway role as it is the gateway for southern Thailand as Malaysia's Land Public Transport Commission Chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said in his speech at the launch of the Asean-Business Advisory Council Seminar 2013 in Kuala Lumpur on 18 April 2013.

 

Syed Hamid said Padang Besar and Bukit Kayu Hitam are the top two export points for the four southern Thailand provinces of Songkla, Chumporn, Nakhon Ratchasmia and Surat Thani, accounting for 31 per cent and 29 per cent respectively.

 

Syed Hamid who was Malaysian Foreign Minister for 10 years also said that the government also plans to develop a global logistics hub with four integrated logistics centres, logistics parks, and a logistics park over 1,093 hectre in Iskandar Malaysia, located along one of the world's busiest sea-lanes, the Straits of Malacca. The transport and storage sector contributes RM30 billion to the country's economy, and it is 3.2 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

In the speech he also mentioned that the Asean Economic Community (AEC) will remove substantially all trade restrictions for logistics services by 2013 and allow other Asean countries to take up to 70 per cent equity participation for logistics services and adding AEC also emphasises efforts to enhance transport facilitation and logistics services, promote multimodal transport linkages and connectivity. Malaysia's trade with Asean in 2012 amounted to US$115.9 billion or 27.3 per cent of Malaysia's external trade.

 

The conclusion here is as the government aim for a GDP growth of eight per cent per annum, government must make sure that the transport and logistics sectors also grow accordingly.

    

Malaysia's Land Public Transport Commission Chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar.