KUALA LUMPUR (June 5): The Association of Malaysian Express Carriers (AMEC) has lauded the efforts of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia (KKMM) and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for spearheading the National Postal and Courier Industry Laboratory (NPCIL).
In a statement yesterday, AMEC president Teong Teck Lean said he also welcomed the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Transport, Agensi Pengangkutan Awam Darat (APAD), Royal Malaysian Customs Department, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and others to help build up, improve and make the courier industry safe again.
He said MCMC, in particular, had been very active in supporting the local domestic industry players to improve, play a bigger role and become national and regional champions by spearheading the NPCIL.
“The industry players hope that the government can expedite policy changes to realise our needs to shape the industry with more local players participating to lead this national cause and be champions in the industry,” he said.
“This arrangement can cause abuse and misuse if there [are] no proper checks and balance as the sublicensees emerging from parties coming from foreign countries begin to mushroom in Malaysia without proper control.
“As a result, it has created an unfair playing field for our local industry players,” he said.
Teong was responding to the implementation of the action plan under the National Courier Accelerator Plan (PAKEJ), which will see more independent collection and delivery centres (PUDO) in an effort to improve postal and courier services, in turn creating first-class service to Malaysian consumers.
It was reported on June 3 that Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the action plan also involved asset sharing between courier companies, revision of operating licence conditions, more economical delivery vehicles, notification and compliance with delivery period charters as well as insurance offers and premium services.
“To ensure all these action plans can be planned and implemented effectively, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had taken the first step by freezing the issuance of new courier licences for two years since Sept 14, 2020," said Saifuddin.
Teong stressed that at present the courier industry is riddled with price dumping and service quality issues.
“This presents an unsustainable operating environment for industry players.
“While an independent Postal Forum has been established to narrow down complaints as well as improve service quality and timeliness, time is of essence for heightened response and rectification of unsustainable practices.
“As such, it is imperative that reforms are pushed and forward-looking policies are established as soon as possible,” he said.
AMEC reiterated its support to the government for critical reforms, especially other policies that were not covered during the NPCIL, which include the implementation of the base rate for the delivery of parcels.
“All members of AMEC reiterate their unanimous support to the government for such critical reforms, especially other policies [that] were not covered during NPCIL.
“Some of the areas of concern include the implementation of a base rate for the delivery of parcels as well as safeguarding the interests of domestic carriers and national security,” he said.
Teong said the base rate for parcel delivery is aimed at resolving the issue of price dumping.
He explained that in terms of national security, the occurrence of price dumping creates a low barrier of entry for foreign players.
That being the case, there is a likelihood of domestic data exposure and information seepage to foreign countries. This is supported by the fact that the postal and courier industry is under the purview of MCMC, given that shipments contain important information.
The e-commerce industry continues to expand, with expectations of double-digit growth. Hence, the local infrastructure will need to grow faster in tandem and be well equipped, to be able to support the e-commerce boom. The efforts aimed at enhancing the postal and courier industry and indirectly, the e-commerce industry, will also contribute to the development of local talents.
AMEC expresses its appreciation to KKMM and MCMC for kicking off the process to improve the express carrier industry. The association looks forward to collaborating and contributing to the initiatives and action plan under PAKEJ.