Barter trade halt to check crime

KOTA KINABALU - A move to suspend barter trading in Sabah’s east coast will enable Malaysian authorities room to study in detail its possible links with criminal activities, said Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s Strategic and Security Research Centre head Zaini Othman.

He said the halt would also enable the authorities to draw up a better regulatory framework for barter trading activities between Sabah’s east coast and southern Philippines.

The barter trade halt, that came in the wake of the April 1 abduction of four Malaysian sailors from a tugboat off Pulau Ligitan near Semporna, is among many measures being undertaken to curb transborder crime.

“I am quite sure that once the Government believes that existing threats have been minimised or no longer exist, the policy will be changed and barter trade will resume. After all, government policies are always pragmatic and fluid,” Zaini said.

He said the halt in the barter trade as well as transshipment of petroleum and gas products between Sabah and southern Philippines would initially disrupt the flow of trade in the affected area.

In a related development, the business community in the Philippines’ southernmost Zamboanga City said Sabah’s barter trade ban would have no impact on them as they were importing most of their goods directly from Singapore, Indonesia and China.

The trade ban was unlikely to have any significant impact on the southern Jolo island, known as the kidnap capital of the Philippines, and was the stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group that is believed to have abducted the four Malaysian seamen.

Camelar Trading Centre Stallholders Association Inc president Said Basaluddin said the trade ban would only impact smaller islands near Sabah’s borders namely Tawi Tawi province.

“Due to its proximity to Sabah, smaller traders from Tawi Tawi find it easier and cheaper to get goods from Sabah instead of Zamboanga,” he told The Star.

“They will feel the impact of the trade ban and obviously so will the Sabah business community who had dealings with the barter traders,” he added.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman announced the barter trade ban on Wednesday as part of measures to improve security in the state’s east coast.

Former Tawi Tawi Congressman Nur Jaafar had appealed to Malaysia to rescind the trade ban which he said was hurting the province that had nothing to do with the abductions.