KUALA LUMPUR: The presence of an Admiralty Court and professional maritime lawyers will further boost Malaysia’s confidence and ability to meet the needs of the international maritime community, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (pic).
He said one of the country’s key strengths was having good maritime laws and a legal system which could settle any dispute involving maritime issues.
“If there is any dispute in terms of trade, they can settle it through the Admiralty Court. This is a good system that we have.
“Even China believes that our system is good and that is why it invested in our ports. I welcome more cooperation with other seaports, especially from China,” he told reporters at the Maritime Law Conference: Resolving Maritime Claims Effectively here yesterday.
The Melaka Gateway seaport, for example, was given the green light for development by the Transport Ministry under China’s Belt and Road initiative on Oct 6.
The port is being developed by KAJ Development Sdn Bhd (KAJD) and Powerchina International by partnering with Yantian Port Group from Shenzen, Guangdong and Rizhao Port Group Co Ltd, Shangdong, China.
Liow said while the maritime dispute resolution community might be small, its work had seen the Admiralty Court and maritime arbitration going from strength to strength.
“We have seen how effective dispute resolution processes can lead to successful business activities in other established maritime nations,” he added.
Liow also said Malaysia was ranked one of the top 30 trading nations and among the top 30 in terms of shipping, with a gross tonnage of 7.3 million.
The ministry was focused on driving the implementation of the Malaysian Shipping Masterplan 2020 to address challenges faced by the industry, he said.-thestar
