KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — Minister of Transport, Wee Ka Siong, was recently criticised for his decision to revoke the cabotage exemption for foreign vessels to conduct undersea cable repairs in Malaysian waters.

Last week, tech giants which include Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Malaysia Internet Exchange (MyIX) have expressed urgent concerns over the decision which will impact Malaysia’s internet speed and quality.

As highlighted by former transport minister, Anthony Loke and former communications and multimedia minister, Gobind Singh in Parliament last week, the exemption was granted after requests were made from tech giants to shorten the time required to repair undersea cables. With the cabotage policy, it was reported that repairs can take up to 27 days and it has a negative impact in attracting telecommunications and internet investors.

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Last Wednesday, Wee had a dialogue session with Facebook, Google, Microsoft and MyIX to provide a clearer picture on the National Cabotage Policy at his office in Putrajaya.

He explained that the cabotage exemption for cable repair works was revoked due to the following reasons: