THE maritime industry needs to work on the 10 key areas. which Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdul lah Ahmad Badawi had raised soon after taking office if it hopes to be a major player in the region;Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam, chairman of the Federation of Malaysian Port Operation Companies (EMPOC) and executive chairman of Westport, said the 10 issues raised by Abdullah were timely and were an indication of what need to be done in the industry.The l0 issues raised by Abdullah (bold) and EMPOC

The success we have inherited cannot be continued if creativity and innovation do not become part of our culture.
Westport has achieved several world records but we cannot rest on our laurels. Ships are going to get bigger and shipping lines will look for berth and vessel productivity of 80-100 moves on average per hour. With technology and innovation, we have to ensure we have a continuous improvement programme.

First-world infrastructure must go hand in hand with First World mentality. We agree that first-class infrastructure needs to be complemented with first-world mentality.
In fact, we agree that we have first-class hardware but the software needs to be improved to complement it. The maritime industry is a logistic chain, which will be as strong as its weakest link. We have only two choices; we have to ensure every player in the logistic chain is first class or we need to reduce the number of players in the logistic chain to achieve first-class performance.

Human resource development has to be enhanced.
Human resources need to be improved. To me, this can be achieved only by paying and treating our workers well so that they are geared towards higher productivity. We cannot demand extraordinary efforts without extraordinary wages, benefits and care for our staff.

We must seek and identify new sources of economic growth.
The ports, especially Westport, Penang and PTP, are being equipped for new sources of economic growth from regional cargo and distribution hubs. In this new century, the services sector will grow faster than the agriculture or manufacturing sectors through value-added services, distriparks and regional synergies with the advent of AFT A and WTO.

The private sector should play an active role in creating employment and economic opportunities.
With the growth of the port industry doubling every seven years and through value-added services and distribution hubs, we can create further employment. Ports are manned almost entirely by Malaysian workers and this situation is expected to remain, unlike some sectors which resorted to hiring foreign workers.

The public sector must radically move beyond its role as mere regulators and law enforcers. It must become more effective, efficient and transparent facilitators, able to respond speedily to the needs and requirements of the private sector.
We agree that the public sector needs to radically move beyond being mere regulators because we are in an era of globalisation, a borderless world and free trade agreements. We also agree that there is an urgent need to be transparent. This can be achieved only by removing archaic practices and licences. Most of all, we have to simplify and standardise tariffs just as in the airline industry where the price of one ticket pays for all services at both ends of the airports. In the maritime trade, the shipper pays numerous charges imposed by different players, which in some cases are regulated but in many cases are not transparent.

Corruption is an odious crime.
Effective audit will help reduce bribery and corruption. Unfortunately audits are post-event activities. Preferably this can be prevented through transparent, simplified tariffs and established standard operating procedures. Even more critical is to ensure that the per capita income is raised for the public sector to meet its basic needs.

Streamlining work processes, reduction of red tape, improvements in the delivery system and effective audits would reduce the opportunities for bribery.
Red tape and improvements in the delivery system are not necessarily due to human failings or inefficiency on the part of the public sector. There will be improvements with greater deregulation and greater delegation of authority. There should be empowerment at every strata of the hierarchy so that both the private and public sectors could be nimble, efficient and respond effectively.

The ideas, aspirations and idealism must be harnessed to facilitate innovation, invention and creativity.
In the last 10 years, the port industry in Malaysia has had more ideas, aspirations, innovation and creativity compared with 100 years ago. This was due to the public and private sectors working together. In fact, we in the port industry readily acknowledge that our success is also due to the willingness of several government agencies to implement a mind shift and respond to the private sector's needs.

Vision 2020 will continue to inspire and drive this nation towards holistic development to become a developed country.
We believe Malaysia has achieved Vision 2020 in terms of infrastructure, which in many ways are superior to those in some developed countries. What is required now is a National Vision Policy to ensure that the citizens of the country also share the fruit of a developed nation. As such we hope Vision 2020 will concentrate on ensuring that every citizen will not only own a home but also have a home with electronic facilities such as satellite television and Internet connectivity. In fact, a developed nation is also one where every child is not denied tertiary education and will find employment upon graduation. As such the emphasis of Vision 2020 should be on the people and not the projects and the hardware.