Malaysia has announced its candidature as IMO council member under Category C for the ninth term. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong shared on a post on his Facebook page how grateful he is to meet and get feedback from the IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim over a video conference regarding various maritime topics, especially that it was his first time to have met the secretary-general from the moment he was named as the Transport Minister.
He was so pleased to declare his pledge to commit the country as a long-time member of the council of IMO since being involved in 2005. He added that this year marks the 50th anniversary of Malaysia as an IMO council member.
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He also noted how Malaysia being a littoral state has played a significant part in safeguarding the Straits of Malacca which is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. Especially after the recent incident that occurred in Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Dr Wee said that Malaysia will continue to commit in ensuring the success of the Cooperative Mechanism for the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
He added that it has been acknowledged as a proven framework for which littoral states promote cooperation in order to guarantee the straits’ safety and protection and that the straits may continue to be open for international navigation.
He also mentioned how the Vessel Traffic System (VTS) installed along the Straits expanded the coverage of shipping channels and how it works in directing the ships safely through the ports of Malaysia.
There were 81,380 ships that crossed over it in 2020 which makes it the busiest strait in the world but with the help of the system, the shipping traffic has been eased and there’s a smooth and safe transit of ships crossing the strait.
As Dr Wee declared that Malaysia will effectively implement the IMO instruments following its involvement with the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (Imsas), he said that the country will deal with the gaps that can be possibly encountered and make the process better in regards to the implementation of legislative, policy, institutional, and enforcement of instruments under the auspices of the IMO. He then concluded with expressing his gratitude to Lim’s validation of the contributions made by Malaysia to IMO and that he can’t wait to have a deeper discussion with Lim about the collaboration between Malaysia and IMO.
