KUALA LUMPUR: Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai has instructed the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor to conduct a detailed study into its standard operation procedure (SOP).
Liow said this is in lieu of a recent brouhaha which erupted over the consignment of high-tech military radar equipment from the PTP that was alleged to have gone missing.
Liow said the detailed study is to further improve the SOP, should there be any areas that needed improvement.
Nevertheless, he noted that PTP, being among the top ports in the world, already has a good SOP in place and is confident that it will continue to do well.
"I don't think there is any mishandling of the consignment, which had reached its destination safely.
"PTP is a very efficient port, it is ranked 17th in the world port rankings,” he told reporters today.
He added that the ministry is working with China, under the One Belt One Road initiative, to improve Malaysian ports through an alliance with Chinese ports.
He said China has seven ports which are ranked top 10 in the world and Malaysia can benefit greatly in terms of port technology, manpower training and hands-on learning.
A news report by an English daily on Thursday said the multi-million ringgit consignment of military radar equipment had been detained by Customs officials at the PTP, shortly after the consignment arrived from Australia last month.
The Customs Department later said that the equipment had reached its destination in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
The department also refuted news report about the consignment being missing.
However, the incident prompted an internal investigation to determine how such high-risk items could have been released without proper documentation during its transhipment process at the southwestern Johor port.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin expressed outrage and concern over a possibility that there may have been lapses in SOPs involving the transhipment of goods at PTP.
He urged investigators to find out what had transpired as the matter involved the reputation of the port, one of three in Johor that catered to regional trade.