Hazy days for transport sector

Change often brings new hope - that things will turn out better. But the truth is that they can also disrupt current plans.

There's no better example than the transport sector, which has seen three leadership changes in the past seven years.

Each time new ministers and officials are appointed, they need time to familiarise themselves with the new work environment, a transport sector that encompasses road, air, sea and rail.

When that happens, a pertinent question is whether the new minister and officials will continue to support and pursue the current plans or ditch all the work that's been done and go through the whole process all over again.

Today, there's growing concern that the government is not moving aggressively to help the transport industry, and for good reason. In the past two years, nearly all logistics players have been hurt by the global financial crisis, with airlines and shipping companies among the hardest hit.

While profitability in airlines and many shipping companies have returned or rebounded from its lows, these companies continue to see pressure on their yields.

Industry observers say that all too often ministers and officials are so hard-pressed to meet political expectations that they no longer have the time to manage their portfolio.

Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, who served as transport minister between 1986 and 2003, still gets a lot of credit for his vigorous efforts to get shipping lines to use Malaysian ports.

His aim then was to make Port Klang one of the top 10 ports in the world. Of course, being the country's longest serving transport minister helped see through many of his plans to completion.

Dr Ling's successor, Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy, who took over on July 1 2003, left the post in 2008. His accomplishments were more in the aviation sector. His tenure saw the partial liberalisation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore air route to budget airlines in February 2008, followed by full liberalisation 10 months later.

Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat took over at a time when the government faced intense pressure to address the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal. He got no help from the MCA, which was then embroiled in an internal crisis.

The transport sector was slowly losing its vitality and appeal as a major international port and air hub.

Just a few weeks ago, Ong looked set to shift the transport sector into higher gear. However, uncertainty looms large now over the minister's position since his defeat as MCA chief in the last party election.

It also brings up major questions about the future of officials appointed by the minister, some of whom have no political opinions - well, at least they haven't voiced them.

Will Ong's crackdown on the PKFZ issue continue? This comes just as a business transformation plan and a new business model for the free zone in Pulau Indah, Selangor, were expected to be completed and handed over to the Prime Minister this month.

According to a senior official familiar with the matter, the uncertainty over Ong's position in the ministry is unlikely to affect PKFZ's transformation plan as it is now in the hands of the Special Task Force, headed by the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan. But success as such will last only if the government keeps at it.

Perhaps Malaysia can take a leaf out of Japan's policy of hiring technocrats and professionals who are answerable to no constituency to advise on different projects. The frequency of changes in government does not stand in the way of efforts to improve the vitality of the world's second largest economy.

It's far from clear what lies ahead for Ong and his officials. But it is clear that the person in charge should put country first and restore confidence in the transport industry.