Tech giants ask PM for cabotage exemption

 

The Muhyiddin Yassin government revoked the cabotage exemption, citing the need to reduce Malaysia’s dependence on foreign vessels to carry out undersea cable repairs and maintenance work.

PETALING JAYA: Google, Microsoft, Facebook and a couple more tech giants have written to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob seeking the reinstatement of the cabotage exemption policy.

According to a source in the know, the tech companies wrote to Ismail earlier this week on the matter.

Last year, the Muhyiddin Yassin administration revoked the cabotage exemption, which had allowed foreign vessels to carry out undersea cable repairs and maintenance work with minimal restrictions.

The exemption had initially been granted by transport minister Wee Ka Siong’s predecessor, Loke Siew Fook, after requests from telecommunications companies. The objective was to reduce the time taken to repair cables in Malaysian waters, where response time was among the worst in the region.

However, Wee revoked the exemption, citing the need to reduce Malaysia’s dependence on foreign vessels and promote the participation of the local shipping industry.

Malaysia Internet Exchange and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation have cited the revocation of the cabotage exemption as one of the reasons why Facebook and Google’s newest subsea cable in the region bypassed Malaysia entirely.

Now, the tech companies are seeking the reinstatement of the policy.

“The last time, they wrote to Tan Sri Muhyiddin but to no avail, now they are hoping that Ismail will consider their requests,” said the source.

“In the letter, they spoke of the benefits the cabotage exemption will have for the nation and the economy. They also said it was in line with the government’s MyDigital agenda.”

One of the goals of the MyDigital agenda is to attract more companies to land undersea cables in Malaysian waters.

It is unknown if the matter has yet to be discussed by the Cabinet. However, economists have already said that the new government must reinstate the cabotage exemption. - FMT

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