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| GM: Lim used wrong Penang Port report |
| Written by Regina William | |||
| Wednesday, 23 September 2009 11:33 | |||
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Obaid Mansor, PPSB general manager of Containers Strategic Business Unit, told The Edge that the figures quoted by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was wrong as PPSB achieved a 13% increase in TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) for 2Q of this year as compared to the first quarter (1Q). In clarifying Lim's statement, Obaid said there was some confusion as the wrong figures had been quoted by the Transport Ministry's special maritime adviser, Datuk Captain Abdul Rahim Abd Aziz, when he released the figures for Malaysian ports late July. Rahim had been quoted as stating that the while the port handled 199,391 TEUs during 1Q, it experienced a 24.2% drop in 2Q to 151,165 TEUs. Obaid said PPSB actually handled 225,322 TEUs during 2Q and not 151,165 TEUs as reported. "When that report was released, PPSB sought for correction from the ministry of transport as the figures given had missed an entire month of containers handled by the Penang Port but the correction was not widely reported as the earlier report. "Nobody saw that and I believed the Chief Minister has picked up the wrong report. "With a growth of 13%, we have in fact done better than most ports in the country and achieved better recovery from the economic meltdown compared to other ports," he said in a telephone interview. The report quoting Rahim had stated Port Klang, comprising Northport and Westports, had solidified its position as the largest container port in the country with a throughput increase of 7.8% in 2Q compared to the first three months from 1.6 million TEUs to 1.73 million TEUs. The Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor meanwhile had recorded 17.6% growth, Bintulu Port 16% and Johor Port 7.3%. He was quoted as saying that the Penang Port was the only one to record a decline in the same quarters reviewed. Lim on Tuesday had asked the federal government to focus more attention to the port following the drop in container traffic and had said the decline was a warning to the Finance Ministry to inject fresh funds and new ideas into Penang Port. He had also said that questions were being asked on the role played by the regulatory body, Penang Port Commission (PPC), to revitalise the Penang Port and reverse the downward trend in container traffic. Lim also said that the federal government should seriously consider restoring Penang’s free port status to revive Penang Port as the pride of the nation.
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