PUTRAJAYA: The Shipping Industry Policy will be introduced to drive the growth of the nation's shipping sector, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said this would encourage the use of local ships flying the Malaysian flag which are manned by Malaysian crews and seafarers in the transport of goods and cargo.
Loke said the proposal was raised while chairing the first National Shipping Port Council (NSPC) meeting here today.
Other areas discussed were related to sectors such as oil and gas, as well as commodities related to the export and import of major national products such as palm oil and others.
"This is a proposal that we will raise. After detailed discussions with various stakeholders, we hope to present this policy to the cabinet by the end of this year so it can be adopted to guide the growth of the nation's shipping industry
"We can see how important this industry is to the economy and security of the country. Without a local shipping industry, it will certainly hinder the growth and stability of our national economy," he told a press conference here today.
He said the policy would create more job opportunities for Malaysians in the maritime sector and encourage the training of local youths as seafarers.
"We are told that we train 5,000 seafarers a year, but this figure is compared against the hundreds of thousands of school leavers annually. Five thousand is a very small number.
"The maritime sector has often been overlooked as a career option, especially among school leavers and university graduates.
"They typically do not choose seafaring as a career option, but I want to emphasise that seafarers actually have many attractive opportunities and can earn higher incomes."
He said among the issues raised were how to enhance capacity and competence in the nation's ports.
He expressed optimism that this initiative would stimulate additional investments in Malaysian-flagged vessels, fostering related industries such as shipbuilding and ship repairs.
"The government will continue to encourage investment in our ports, including our goal to digitise them, so that they become more competitive and advanced ports.
"We want to take this opportunity to further encourage Malaysians to pay attention to the shipping industry," he said.