Preview - Port Klang

12 VISTACOMPETITIVE EDGEFrom its 18th ranking in 2009, Malaysia has emerged as the 10thmost competitive nation in the world, according to the 2010 WorldCompetitiveness Yearbook (WCY). It is published by the Swiss-basedInstitute for Management Development (IMD) which assesses a country’scompetitiveness based on four factors, namely economic performance,government efficiency, business culture (in terms of productivity, labourmarket, finance, management practices, attitudes and values) as well asthe quality of national infrastructure.According to Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Deputy Secretary General(Trade) of Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysia haddone particularly well on the government and business fronts.She enthuses: “We managed to achieve such a feat because of strongimprovements in our economic fundamentals, positive changes in theway business is conducted and also our own government transformationefforts. All these measures reflect the tagline, 1Malaysia, People First,Performance Now.”Datuk Dr Rebecca firmly believes that there is still much room forimprovement in terms of facilitating trade. She elaborates: “Currently, thegovernment is aggressively pursuing reforms on many fronts. For example,we have instituted the New Key Economic Activities, as outlined in theNew Economic Model. They are expected to further accelerate Malaysia’seconomic development. However, we still need to strive for furtherreforms, such as, revamping outdated policies and re-engineering businessprocesses to shape a truly dynamic business environment.”The Deputy Secretary General stresses that the responsibility of makingMalaysia more competitive and efficient does not solely lie on theshoulders of the Government. She says: “We not only welcome theviews and feedback of all stakeholders but also the direct participation inefforts to improve performance in any given arena.“Take, for example, the trading activities in a port. All parties involvedin the entire value chain must play their respective roles. The portauthorities, terminal operators, freight forwarders, importers as wellas exporters must all be highly competent so that business can runsmoothly and easily. Quality of service will improve and this will enhancethe ease of doing business”.DATUK DR REBECCA FATIMA STA MARIADeputy Secretary General (Trade)Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI)www.miti.gov.myENHANCING PORT KLANGDatuk Dr Rebecca feels that, as Malaysia’s principal port, Port Klanghas contributed greatly to the nation’s economy especially in relationto supporting international trade. However, she adds: “Port Klang canGATEWAYA PUBLICATION OF PORT KLANG AUTHORITY