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It will be one year to date on August 30 of the event that marked the much hullabaloo that Port Klang Authority raised in launching the national ports exchange but it will be one anniversary that the port authority wished never took place.
The port exchange, touted by Port Klang Authority as a natural evolution towards enhancing the current electronic data interchange based trade facilitation system, remains, after a year, only in the fertile imagination of the port authority and its partner DagangNet Technologies Sdn Bhd and its collaborator, Rank Alpha Sdn Bhd
Claimed that it would be a full-fledged exchange with three essential components that will benefit port users throughout the country, the national ports exchange is without even a domain address on the Internet.
The promoters said the exchange, that was launched by the Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik, would offer a wide range of data on vessel traffic at all Malaysian ports, inter-active link between shippers and shipping lines and even provide on-line transactions on cargo declarations and dangerous goods notification to the relevant authorities such as Customs and port authorities.
Its fictitious claim said it would have a capability to allow submission of space booking, service/rate confirmation, request for container deliveries, movement orders and transmission of manifest, bill of lading, stowage plan.
"But nothing of this has taken place," a shipping agent said.
PKA even made audacious claim that the exchange, after a pilot programme covering Port Klang would be expanded to other federal and state ports in the country.
"We are not aware of this," said one of the federal port agencies.
Following a public outcry earlier this year on the lack of progress of the exchange on which promoters spend about RM300,000 on the launch event only, PKA initiated a feed-back meeting with identified user groups.
Baffled port users said they were not even aware of its existence.
It is understood a report was compiled to decide on the next course of action but till today tardiness at PKA continues to plague the fate of the exchange.
According to sources the promoters, in a bid to hide their embarrassment of the abortive attempt to develop the exchange are not talking our creating a "version 2" of the exchange.
Urging the government to investigate claims over the development of the exchange, a federal port agency users said: "We are not sure what this all about - and we are certainly not part of this exchange although it claims to be a national exchange."
"It will benefit the entire maritime community by making available all relevant information and transaction function under one roof and easily accessible through the Internet," said the Minister of Transport oblivious of the exchange.
"To my knowledge it is only a ghost exchange - a mere web address and nothing more," said an agent.
In her unbound enthusiasm, the bubbly general manager of PKA, Datin O C Phang noted NPE was developed on the premise an efficient platform for electronic B2B relationship in the port community would enhance the growth of trade through electronic transactions that move documents faster, and as well as cargo with better speed.
"In any effort that takes a quantum leap - such as the one we are attempting via NPE - an important challenge is achieving real and sustainable results," said Phang vacuously.
"PKA would thus take all necessary measures to ensure that moving into this brave new world of e-commerce the expectation of the port customers is successfully managed and met," she said unaware that the omissions and sloppiness of the port authority would come to haunt her in her last days with the port authority.
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