Malaysia protests RI’s import restrictions

The Malaysian Trade and Industry Ministry has filed a formal complaint with its Indonesian counterpart over the reduction on the number of Indonesian seaports and airports legally permitted to receive imported goods from five categories including electronics, food and drinks, clothing, toys and footwear.

Pradnyawati, trade attaché to the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said Friday that the Malaysian minister believed that the ban covered too many commodities and that the limitation would obstruct border trade.

“The Malaysian minister said that under the regulations they have to export goods to Kalimantan through Medan (Sumatra) or Jakarta (Java). But Trade Minister Mari Pangestu has sent a reply saying that border trade was not included under the regulation,” she said, as quoted by state new agency Antara.

The government ruled in December last year that the import of the specified commodities must be through one of ten designated sea and airports.

The eligible seaports are Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Tanjung Emas in Semarang, Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, Belawan in North Sumatra and Makassar in South Sulawesi. The airports are Soekarno-Hatta airport in Banten, Ahmad Yani airport in Semarang, Juanda airport in Surabaya, Polonia airport in Medan, and Sultan Hasanudin airport, Makassar.

“We have to protect consumers. It should be understood that we need to control import gates because of the existence of too many gates and our geographical situation,” Pradnyawati added. (dre)