PETALING JAYA: Courier service operators are calling for reforms in their industry, to not only take out unlicensed companies but to also allow the law-abiding ones to make it through these trying times.
Association of Malaysian Express Carriers (Amec) president Teong Teck Lean said the industry’s sustainability is now at stake following a practically free-for-all situation characterised by the presence of many unregulated sub-licensees.
“The sub-licensees from foreign countries began to mushroom in Malaysia without proper control, and that has created an unfair playing field for local industry players.
“This can cause abuse and misuse if there are no proper checks and balances,” he said.
Teong said the public should be cautious when engaging or dealing with unregulated service providers.
“We advise the public to raise such issues with the relevant agency such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC),” he added.
The MCMC, which is under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry, is responsible for overseeing and regulating postal and courier services in Malaysia.
Teong said the matter should be taken seriously because parcels and shipments contain personal information.
He lauded the ministry and MCMC’s effort in spearheading the National Postal and Courier Industry Laboratory (NPCIL)
that was held late last year with industry players to improve such services.
“Amec welcomes the initiatives taken by various ministries, agencies and others to help build, improve and make the courier industry secure and sustainable again.
“While an independent forum has been established to narrow down complaints as well as improve service quality and timeliness, time is of the essence for heightened response and rectification of unsustainable practices,” he said, referring to NPCIL.
At present, he said the courier service industry was riddled with price dumping and questionable service quality, which caused an unsustainable operating environment for legitimate industry players.
“It is imperative for critical reforms and policies to be established as soon as possible, such as formulating a base rate for parcel delivery as well as safeguarding the interests of domestic carriers and national security, which were not included in the NPCIL discussion.
“Just like the banking and telco industries, we also need to have certain control over this key national infrastructure.
“We need forward-looking policies to make it sustainable,” he said, adding that Amec would support the government on such critical reforms.
Teong argued that the courier services industry should be taken as an essential backbone of the country.
“With the emergence of e-commerce, we can expect a boom in the courier industry moving forward,” he added.
On June 3, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah announced the implementation of the National Courier Accelerator
Plan (Pakej), which would see more independent collection and delivery centres to improve postal and courier services for consumers.
He said Pakej also involved asset sharing between courier companies, revision of operating licence conditions, more economical delivery vehicles, notification and compliance with delivery period charters, as well as insurance offers and premium services.
MCMC chairman Dr Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek on June 17 said that Pakej was a five-year strategic roadmap beginning this year as a solution from the NPCIL aspiration to offer first-class services, industry-led digitalisation projects with courier coverage mapping, and to strengthen the licensing regulatory framework.
With eight initiatives within two pillars, he said the first pillar was to help drive the industry’s sustainability, and secondly, to provide quality service and coverage-backed growth for the consumer.
Meanwhile, those with complaints can call the MCMC at 1800 188 030 or email aduanskmm@mcmc.gov.my.