Photo: Bernama
BAGAN DATUK: The investigation into the alleged presence of a container bearing the logo of the Israel-based shipping company Zim at a port in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, needs to be expedited, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that the country is bound to the government’s policy of no diplomatic relations and no trade agreements with Israel. He said if there are Israeli goods at any port in Malaysia using a third party, then the matter should be monitored by the authorities.
“I think that the port operator and Customs Department should act immediately because we know what is happening is not just a matter of trade, but a matter of how such strict regulations have been circumvented by the presence of such a container to dock at one of our ports.
“The investigation to find out if it is true or not must be expedited,” he said at a press conference after launching the Bagan Datuk district police headquarters in Hutan Melintang yesterday, Bernama reported.
On Saturday, the media reported the presence of such a container, which raised questions among the residents.
Kota Iskandar assemblyman Datuk Pandak Ahmad said that he was surprised to receive a report from concerned residents who claimed that the port was still allowing containers from Israel.
In December last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government would no longer accept ships flying the Israeli flag into the country with immediate effect as well as prohibiting any ship en route to Israel from loading cargo at Malaysian ports.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the government had decided to block and disallow vessels from Israel-based shipping company Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd from docking at any Malaysian port.
Subsequently, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Zim had to remove its 4,000 transhipment containers that were stranded due to the ban.
In Johor Baru, state exco member Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said that the state government is waiting for a full report from Johor Port Authority (LPJ) regarding the containers. He said the state government had received complaints from several parties, including Kota Iskandar assemblyman Datuk Pandak Ahmad and villagers after seeing these containers at the port.
He added this was the first time the Johor government has received complaints about containers related to an Israeli shipping company docking at the state’s port.
“We leave this issue to the authorities for further action. The public is advised not to take matters into their own hands and to report to the relevant agencies immediately.
“At the moment, we do not know the contents of the container,” he said.
