THE unity government has made the decision to reinstate the cabotage exemption for foreign vessels engaged in undersea cable repairs, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook announced today.
Loke said that this decision was made with the aim of attracting foreign investors, emphasising the importance of tweaking policies to facilitate foreign direct investment based on feedback received from investors.
“Based on feedback by investors, we decided to tweak our policy to facilitate foreign direct investment,” he said at a press conference today.
This reinstatement follows a previous announcement in 2019 by Loke, who was then leading the transport ministry, which initially granted foreign vessels conducting undersea cable repairs and maintenance work exemptions from certain cabotage requirements and fees.
However, the exemption was subsequently revoked by the Perikatan Nasional (PN)-led government in the following year.
Cabotage exemptions afford foreign vessels the liberty to undertake specific activities without being bound by certain restrictions, thereby enabling smoother operations and potentially fostering greater international collaboration in critical infrastructure projects. – March 1, 2024
Main photo credit: DHL
