KUALA LUMPUR - Given the rise of transnational commercial trade, Malaysia needs a robust framework of legal and regulatory instruments that govern maritime activities to ensure that the maritime industry achieves sustainable growth, said Federal Court judge Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan.
Judge Nallini said that for Malaysia to remain competitive, it requires a myriad of laws and amendments to current laws so that they are in line with international standards, which are deemed necessary to provide confidence, certainty and predictability to people of commerce both domestically and internationally.
"It is not only in times of enterprise and profit but also when things go wrong - to that extent insolvency laws also need to meet international standards.
"The importance of cross-border laws which are modern and in keeping with the more developed jurisdictions like Singapore, Japan, Korea, and the Western countries cannot be underscored," she said in her keynote address at the third Maritime Law and Business Conference 2023 today.
The two-day conference, themed "Refuelling the Future - Sustainability and Growth in the Post-Covid Era", is organised by the International Malaysian Society of Maritime Law (IMSML).
She said Malaysia, whose coastlines are adjacent to the Straits of Melaka where an estimated 80,000 ships pass through every year, faces competition in the martime industry. Singapore remains at the top, while Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are catching up.
Indonesia’s master plan includes the development of a port larger than Tanjong Priok and the relocation of its capital city to Kalimantan.
"Thailand plans to construct a land bridge connecting the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, which would allow ships to transfer cargo from East to West and West to East via the Grand Canal or Crown land bridge. That would seriously impact our maritime industry,” she added.
She emphasised that Malaysia ought to have its own laws tailor-made to meet the needs of Malaysia and presently, the country does not have a comprehensive body of legislation tailored to the country's own unique circumstances.
"Surely both post-colonially and more significantly in order to ensure decolonisation, we continue to rely on borrowed legislation from the United Kingdom, much of which has been long superseded even there, for example, the Bills of Lading Act of 1855."
She said the body of law governing shipping and admiralty practice is international and evolving to meet the needs of changing times, bringing a perennial challenge for the legal fraternity, which often contends with intricate shipping issues.
"This makes the handing down of commercially practical and just decisions for the benefit of the shipping community a constant challenge," she said.
Hence, she said Malaysia's maritime laws are in need of further reform to meet the needs of the domestic maritime industry and the nation.
"At stake is the potential and future of our trade and commerce and our ability to survive and retain our economic success and reputation as a maritime trading nation," she said.
Malaysia enjoys a thriving shipping and maritime trade industry and is positioned among the world’s top 25 trading nations.
Almost 90 per cent of Malaysia’s trade is seaborne, and the maritime industry contributes about 40 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.