The government has been urged to appoint an independent consultant to carry out a study on the progress with a view to enabling the full implementation of the Electronic Data Interchange in the country
 
Unimpressed over the progress of the EDI, the Multi-modal Transport & Freight Forwarders (MTOs) made the call in wide-ranging recommendations aimed at promoting growth and enhancing the competitiveness of the industry at the recent Ministry of Finance Budget Dialogue 2002.

"An independent (unbiased, no self-interest) consultant should be engaged to undertake an immediate study and to proceed with the implementation without further hassles," the paper presented by K S Affandi in collaboration with the Malaysian Association of Productivity said.

The EDI is an electronic application system developed and implemented by Dagang Net Technologies Sdn Bhd (previously known as Electronic Data Interchange Sdn Bhd) under a 15-year concession provided by the government. 

The EDI is designed to link freight forwarders, shipping agents, port operators, banks hauliers, Customs, relevant government agencies at ports in electronic platform with a view to clearing trade and shipping documents electronically as opposed to manually.

Aside from facilitating faster cargo movements through electronically clearing the documents, EDI has also the objective of simplifying trade documents procedures and enhancing collaboration among the various parties involved in the transaction.

"Currently, the EDI has been implemented in Port Klang and KLIA, and even then, there is no full implementation at these places," lamented the MTOs in the recommendations to the government.

The recommendation noted that it is important to standardize customs procedures and requirements through full implementation of the EDI nationwide and the "legalisation" of electronic data/declaration through the EDI.

"Currently, electronic data is still not recognized for legal customs declaration purposes," the MTOs made their observation in the recommendations.

Under the agreement with the government, Dagang Net Technologies Sdn Bhd (DNT) sought to first implement EDI at Port Klang under what came to be known as Port Klang Community System (PKCS).

The PKCS aims to integrate and achieve collaboration with various communities (such as the freight forwarders, shipping agents, banks, ports and others).

The pace of progress in the implementation of EDI has been reflected in the fact that it had taken nearly 10 years to achieve paperless transactions in various shipping and trading regimes. 

According a recent DNT status report on the implementation of PKCS transactions relating to imports and exports of goods, bonded goods, import/export manifest as well as documents relating to movement of goods in free zones (including transshipment) became fully paperless only since the middle of this year.

The unfulfilled status of the PKCS includes its inability to integrate the container hauliers.

The implementation of PKCS was also to provide DNT with a framework to implement similar community-based systems at other ports, namely Penang, Johor and Port of Tanjung Pelepas but to date this has not taken place.

The lack of the electronic-based transactions at some of these ports has raised the concern of shipping lines as voiced by the managing director of P&O Nedlloyd Agencies M A Sdn Bhd, Patrick Lim recently.

DNT claims the electronic community-based system would be implemented nation-wide by 2003, just well within the expiration of the concession term provided by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

However, it is understood, ostensibly to overcome its deficiencies, DNT has now approached the Ministry of Transport to develop a national exchange that would serve as a hub for e-commerce and e-business accessible by all business in the country.

"Such a move, if it true, is no more than putting old wine in new bottle and only serves to confirm the concern of DNT to achieve further progress on the implementation of EDI as it originally represented to the government," a source commented.