KUCHING: The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sarawak (ACCCIS), Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (SHEDA) and Sarawak Master Builders Federation (SMBF) jointly held a dialogue recently on December 15, 2022 with the representatives from CMS Cement Industry Sdn. Bhd.
In a press statement here today, a spokesperson said the dialogue was held in the midst of experiencing the shortage of cement supply in Southern Sarawak, in particular Kuching recently.
The dialogue cum luncheon was hosted by Deputy Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MPHLG) Michael Tiang Ming Tee.
The attendees had a frank and cordial discussion on the problems and issues encountered by the construction and properties development sectors due to the recent shortage cement supply followed on with an informative update on the latest development on the supply of cement from the Head of Commercial of CMS Cement Industry Sdn. Bhd., J. T. Choong.
“I am delighted to host the luncheon this afternoon with the representatives from 3 main business organizations, namely ACCCIS, SHEDA and SMBF to discuss the pressing concerns of the shortage of the supply of cement with the representatives from CMS Cement Industry Sdn. Bhd.
“It is a good opportunity for me to listen and gather feedbacks from the stakeholders directly and have a better understanding on what has been happening on the ground,” said Tiang.
Tiang noted that the ensuing problems faced by a lot of contractors as the projects undertaken were halted and delayed due to the shortage of cement supply.
In some cases, this carried serious implications on the imposition of penalty by their respective employers, and the shortages of the cement supply and the stones of late have hampered the progress of the housing development projects which caused some developers to have severe cash-flow problems.
The deputy minister has also pledged to look into the problems with the hope that the supply chain of building materials would return to normalcy soon.
Other issues such as the excessive queuing time for accepting the delivery of the cement at the depot of the supplier and the looming revision of the pricing of cement by the wholesaler were also discussed during the session.
Also present in the dialogue were the Secretary-General of ACCCIS Datuk Jonathan Chai, the President of SHEDA Augustine Wong, SHEDA’s Secretary-General Angie Kueh, the Chairman of SMBF James Ha, SMBF’s Secretary-General Tan Chen Sin, other committee members of ACCCIS Rodger Chan, Lai Chau Liong, other members of SHEDA Johnny Ding, Ong and committee members from KCGCCI Dennis Chin, Fam Khing Foh, and Vincent Chai, together with other representatives from CMS Cement Industry Sdn. Bhd. Sofrizan Osman and Sahil Dev.
