Malaysian News: Auto fuel, car sales, public transit, ports September 23, 2004

1. Calls have been made to move the nation's auto fleets towards becoming diesel driven, similar to Europe, in move to reduce emissions and costs

2. Car sales continue to increase, with non-national brand sale increases outpacing national brand sale increases

3. About 65% of KL's public transit capacity for rail and will be nationalized under a new agency. The purpose is to provide more integration and coordination of physical infrastructure, fare structure, routes and scheduling. This is a big change from the many separate privately owned rail and lines!

4. Port 's throughput continues to grow

5. Port Klang is moving to a new system of tracking cargo that requires shipping agents to provide additional information on freight. Shipping agents are refusing to provide new information and resulting impass could cause massive delays in Port Klang when new system is implemented Oct. 1.

6. port has new system to route and inspect cargo in more automatic manner, but also has backup plan in place in case new system fails

******************************************************** ***1. Calls for move towards diesel as private auto fuel*** ******************************************************** http://www.bernama.com/

September 22, 2004 18:39 PM

Call For Use Of More Diesel-Powered Engines

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 () -- Tan Lian Hoe (BN-) Wednesday called for more use of diesel-powered engines as the fuel is cheaper than petrol.

Tan said diesel was cheaper and cleaner, and engines which used the fuel emitted less noxious gas as compared to the more expensive petrol which produced a lot of carbon monoxide.

"Diesel is a safe fuel, not easily flammable and 30 per cent cheaper than petrol," he said when debating the Supply Bill 2005 at here Wednesday.

He said 43.7 per cent of motorists in Europe used diesel-powered engines, France (67 per cent) and Australia (71 per cent).

"For an individual, who uses diesel-powered engine, he can save up to 50 per cent in fuel costs, some RM1.8 billion a year for the nation," he said.

He also urged the government to review the high road tax imposed on vehicles that used diesel as fuel.

Tan also agreed with Datuk Raja Ahmad Zainudin Raja Omar (BN-Larut) on the need to fix "life span" for vehicles in efforts to reduce road accidents.

He also called for the government to reduce bureaucratic red tape that caused inconveniences to the public.

Wong Nai Chee (BN-Kota Melaka) urged the government to allow more usage of the mother tongue of various races in the country.

"Use of national language should be given priority but this should not bar or limit the use of mother tongue of respective communities," he said.

Wong also called for more allocation for vernacular schools which at times had to depend for assistance from their parent-teacher associations.

Datuk Dr Wan Azmi Ariffin (BN-Sik) called for "Sabah Development Plan (SSDP)" to be drawn out as a development master plan for both states.

He said SSDP should be given attention in efforts to curb the "halfway stage syndrome" which happened to previous development blueprints.

Dr Mohd Hayati Othman (PAS-Pendang) hoped construction of the East Coast Expressway would not stop at Terengganu, but extended to despite the state being administered by an opposition party.

"I hope the present national leadership do not practise narrow brand of politics in achieving balanced development," he said.

He also agreed with Mohd Alwi Che Ahmad (BN-Ketereh) for cigarette producers to lower nicotine content in their products by 50-70 per cent.

The House will sit again Thursday.

************************************* ***2. Car sales continue to increase*** ************************************* http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/BTimes/Thursday/Frontpage/20040922233209/A rticle/

August car sales up for 7th straight month By RUPINDER SINGH

CAR sales in AAugust rose for the seventh straight month, growing 12.4 per cent from a year ago, signalling a steady momentum in private spending.

Motor vehicle sales continued its upward trend in August this year with 41,238 units sold, representing a 12.4 per cent increase from 36,701 units sold in August 2003, according to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

“Year-on-year sales trend for August 2004 continued to register positive growth. Volume increased by 4,537 units, or 12.4 per cent, over August 2003,” MAA said in a statement released yesterday.

Motor stock analysts said strong consumer confidence, low interest rates and attractive terms on car-financing and the strong economy combined to drive sales higher.

In tandem with the fast-growing economy which registered a gross domestic product of 8 per cent in the second quarter, Prime Minister Datuk Seri when tabling the 2005 Budget earlier this month forecast the economy to grow to 7 per cent this year.

Sales of passenger cars in August this year rose 12.75 per cent to 32,183 units, while commercial vehicle sales increased almost 11 per cent to 9,055 units.

“As at year to date, August, volume is 37,945 units, or 13.8 per cent, higher than the same period last year,” the association said.

The total industry volume (TIV) for motor vehicle sales from January to August 2004 was 312,320 units from 274.375 units previously.

About 70 per cent of the volume of passenger cars and commercial vehicles sold in the first eight months of 2004 comprised national cars.

In the same eight-month period, foreign car sales rose 37 per cent to 97,038 units from 70,879 during the last corresponding year.

Meanwhile, overall production for the national and non-national makes up to August 2004 declined 1.1 per cent to reach a total of 290,307 units against 293,516 units in 2003.

In that first eight months of this year, production of national makes declined by 7.2 per cent to reach 211,247 units, while non-national car production improved 20 per cent to 79,060 units.

However, overall production for both passenger and commercial vehicles for August improved by 8.6 per cent to 39,272 units from 36,154 units in August last year.

In the same month, both national and foreign car makers’ output increased by 6.5 per cent and 14.5 per cent as they rolled out 28,277 units and 10,995 units respectively.

The association expects market conditions in September to remain unchanged.

MAA had earlier forecast that the TIV will expand by 9 per cent to 440,000 units this year, as sales rebounded strongly following a dismal period caused by tax uncertainties. TIV registered last year were 405,010 units.

*********************************************************** ***3. Large segment of KL public transit to be nationalized*** *********************************************************** http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_25231e80 -cb73c03a-18e609b0-8f8da554

16-09-2004: End to transport woes By Yap Lih Huey

Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras (Rapid) KL, the newly-formed government agency to integrate ’s system, will take over the operations of light rail transit Putra and Star, and bus services Intrakota and Cityliner by year end.

Under the plan, sources say Rapid KL will take over Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd’s (SPNB) operational role and assets in Putra, Star, Intrakota and CityLiner leaving SPNB’s role to building and financing the infrastructure.

However, KL , and Triton (a subsidiary of Advance Synergy Capital Bhd) will remain as independent transport service providers.

A member on the advisory panel of Integrasi Sistem Pengangkutan Awam Lembah Klang (Inspak) steering committee tells FinancialDaily that the bus and light rail services to be undertaken by Rapid KL will cover some 65% of urban public transport services.

He says: “The transfer of assets of Putra, Star, Intrakota and CityLiner from SPNB to Rapid KL is expected to happen soon.”

On Sept 10, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced the setting up of Rapid KL in his Budget 2005 speech.

This is bad news for Ready Network Sdn Bhd, a company owned by Nadicorp Holdings Sdn Bhd, Infrastructure Group Bhd and KUB Bhd, which was picked last October to take over all public transport services in the Klang Valley.

Commenting on Rapid KL’s operational role, the member on Inspak’s advisory panel says: “It will be run by professionals with expertise and knowledge of public transportation systems. They will be picked from the region.

“In addition to the common brand (Rapid), the integration plan comprises four basic functions — physical, network, fare and ticketing, and information — to be implemented in stages,” he adds.

Physical integration will involve the construction of walkways, access roads, ramps and bridges to facilitate customer access.

Rationalisation of fare structures across operators, and common ticketing across operators and modes, as well as the creation of a single “travelcard” acceptable across modes will be operational by the middle of next year.

Under the network integration, he says routing and scheduling of public transport services across service providers will be rationalised and coordinated.

The provision of information such as fare, timetable and route plans as well as timetables for all operators on the entire public transport network will be implemented as well.

According to him, the independent public transport service providers that are not part of the integration plan will continue to operate as usual. “If they choose to work with Rapid KL, they will come under an integration agreement with Rapid KL,” he says.

Rapid KL comes under the Klang Valley Urban Transport Authority (KVUTA), a one-stop agency that plans, implements, and enforces policies aiming to ease transport woes in the Klang Valley. Over 10 government agencies under various ministries — which include agencies from the Ministries of Transport, Finance, Federal Territories, and Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development — will be under KVUTA.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy had said the in Klang Valley had worsened due to the declining use of public transport. The use of public transport has decreased from 34% in 1985 to the present 16% of the total mode of transportation among commuters; while the use of private cars has jumped to 71% from 47% for the same period.

Under Budget 2005, the Transport Ministry will receive a RM1.85 billion allocation.

*************************************** ***4. Increase in Port Klang Throughput*** ****************************************

09-09-2004: Port Klang throughput to rise 8% this year By Tong Yee Siong

Port Klang’s container throughput this year is likely to rise by 8% to 5.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from 4.8 million TEUs in 2003 after it reported a 16% year-on-year increase in the first six months, says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy.

He said Port Klang’s expected growth would help boost overall container throughput at all Malaysian ports to 11 million TEUs, about 8% higher than the 10.2 million TEUs last year.

“We are confident of achieving the target based on the performance so far. The government will continue to upgrade the port facilities and market them to liners,” he said after attending a ceremony to welcome CSCL Europe at Westport in Klang on Sept 9.

(from left) Transport Minister Dato' Seri Chan Kong Choy , Capt Li Kelin, president of Shipping and Wang Chun Gui, the ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Malaysia during a tour of CSCL Europe. Chan also said Port Klang had secured 20 new services for the first half of this year. He said they included six mainline services and two feeders secured by Westport.

CSCL Europe is said to be the world’s largest container loadage vessel with a length of 334 metres. It is the second of the five 8,500-TEU vessels built by China Shipping Container Lines Co Ltd (CSCL) this year.

The vessel would serve the Far East-European express line, calling at Westport every Wednesday before making its way to the ports of Felirstowe, Hamburg, Antwerp and Rotterdam.

CSCL president Capt Li Kelin said the other three 8,500-TEU vessels would be ready to begin operations by year-end and would also call at Port Klang.

“Our accomplishments in Malaysia have been in part due to the strong support we have received from various sectors in Malaysia,” he said. CSCL is currently one of Westport’s top container customers with 10 vessels, mostly with a capacity of 5,000 TEUs.

Li said CSCL would be launching eight 9,600-TEU vessels at a later stage and they were likely to call at Westport as well. He expected Port Klang to handle an annual throughput of 8.4 million TEUs by 2010, with a large portion of the volume taken by CSCL.

For 2003, CSCL accounted for 200,000 TEUs out of the 4.8 million TEUs handled by Westport. It expects this to double to 400,000 TEUs this year.

************************************************************************ **** ***5. Port Klang has threat of massive congestion under new tracking system*** ************************************************************************ **** http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_26661b57 -cb73c03a-18e609b0-3de1391f

Congestion threat By Jimmy Yeow

Port Klang, the country’s biggest port, could be heading for massive congestion from Oct 1 if the threat by shipping agents and lines not to key in the seal and container booking reference number for export containers goes as planned.

Millions of ringgit of goods will be held up at the port with exporters facing substantial losses and possible lawsuits from their overseas clients as the dispute over who is responsible for the inputting of the export booking details continues.

The threat is serious in view of the current peak shipping period as exporters rush to meet demand for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Port officials said about 60,000 containers are exported via Northport monthly. The terminal handled about 68% of the laden box traffic in Port Klang and the rest by Westport. Without the seal and reference numbers, shipping agents say port operator Northport would reject the export containers since they do not have the necessary data.

“There will be a massive jam to Northport from Port Klang and even the Klang Port Authority chairman Datuk Yap Pian Hon, whose office is on the way to the terminal may not get in or out of his office on that day,” a shipping agent said.

It has been a long-running battle between hauliers and Northport over who should be responsible for inputting the export booking details.

Hauliers feel they are not the right party to perform the function, as they are usually not notified of any changes in the destinations booked by the exporters. However, these last minute changes resulted in wrong data being transmitted to the port system.

Shipping lines and agents say hauliers have been traditionally keying in the data, as they are the last party to handle the containers from the exporter’s premises before being sent to the port. “They have all the necessary data, we do not have,” the general manager of a major Asian carrier says.

“The problem arises when exporters mix up container numbers and booking reference numbers when they have many containers to ship,” he says.

The managing director of a major shipping line says: “Port Klang should follow international standards and not take a step backward. They should look into this matter seriously as more than 50% of the throughput at Port Klang are via mainline direct calls.”

Shipping agents claim they have never agreed to key in the reference booking and container numbers as announced by Yap after chairing a meeting between the shipping agents, exporters, hauliers and manufacturers last month.

However, Yap when contacted yesterday, disputed the claim by the shipping agents and said he would not let anyone threaten national interest.

“The decision is final. I have received a letter from the Port Klang Shipping Agencies Association (PKSAA) to meet me to clarify the issue.

“There were no comments and objections from representatives of PKSAA, International Shipowners Association and Malaysian Shipowners Association during the meeting and when the decision was made on Aug 10.

“They were silent. The meeting is a forum for everyone there to voice their views,” Yap says.

Yap adds he has requested a meeting with Northport as to why the matter was a point of contention only at the port and not at other terminals and ports in the country.

****************************************** ***6. Port backup plan if automation fails*** ******************************************* http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_2b59f8d3- cb73c03a-18e609b0-63e61971

Northport has back-up plan

Northport (Malaysia) Bhd has a contingency plan to avoid any cargo congestion at its terminal if shipping agents go ahead with their move not to input two important data on export containers into the port’s tracking system from Oct 1, a senior executive says.

Its deputy chief executive officer Mohd Haris Abdul Aziz says the port’s gate entry container tracking system (receivables) software provides the flexibility for any one party involved in the logistics chain to input the necessary data.

“Any particular party, be they the shipping agents, container depot operators, freight forwarders, hauliers or the exporters themselves can key in the seal, container booking reference and container numbers into our system. We have trained them to input these data.

“Our system requires these three information in addition to a quick physical inspection on the seal number and condition of the container before it is allowed into the port. The driver of the prime mover bringing the box does not have to step down from his vehicle,” he tells FinancialDaily.

Haris says Northport will abide by the Aug 10 meeting among the various shipping and tran-sport-related and manufacturing associations and port officials, who agreed that hauliers would continue to key in the seal numbers, and shipping agents the container booking reference and container numbers.

On Wednesday, shipping agents claimed that they had never agreed to key in the two data as announced by Klang Port Authority chairman Datuk Yap Pian Hon after the meeting.

Haris says Northport would not open new gates and revert to the manual system.

Meanwhile, Port Klang Shipping Agencies Association president M Gopalkrishnan says: “The three shipping-related associations will meet next Tuesday to resolve the issue.” He declines to elaborate further.

On Wednesday, Yap says he will meet Northport next week and seek an answer as to why the matter was a point of contention only at the port and not at other terminals and ports in the country.