KUCHING: The Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Technical Committee will hold a follow-up meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on returning Bintulu Port to the state government which plans to establish a single port entity.
Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the MA63 Technical Committee, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the meeting will be held in the second week of July following a discussion with Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas on Friday (June 23).
He said the matter has been brought up with the Ministry of Transport but there has been no decision yet nor a follow-up meeting held.
“Sarawak’s desire to establish a Single Port Enforcement Entity is in accordance with the content of the Federal Constitution and also the State Constitution as this port is under the jurisdiction of the state government.
“Bintulu Port is the only port that is still under the regulation of the federal government. If possible, we want the re-handover of the port to Sarawak in accordance with what is written in the constitution,” he said.
He said this in a press conference after officiating at the My Kasih Love My Neighborhood Petra Jaya event at Dewan Malaysia Jaya, Petra Jaya on Saturday (June 24).
Fadillah said the single entity can be established if the Bintulu Port is fully returned to Sarawak.
Otherwise, he said the proposal is to establish two entities that include the state government and the federal government.
“I will take into account the briefing (with Douglas) by calling the meeting and getting guidance from the Prime Minister,” he said.
On another note, Fadillah who is also Minister of Plantation and Commodities, confirmed that he would be making an official visit to Kenya in the near future.
He said, Kenya is a new market for the country’s palm oil industry including India, Turkey, Egypt and others.
“Kenya is one of the largest palm oil importing countries recording approximately 1.2 million metric tons of palm oil in 2022.
“This is quite big, and we see that Kenya is a rapidly developing country and it is a focal point for expanding the market on the African continent,” he said.
