MACC urged to clarify status of two-month-old petroleum cargo commingling report

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — Maritime industry observer Datuk Seri Jeyenderan Ramasamy has urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to provide a written update on a report lodged in June concerning the alleged commingling or blending of petroleum cargo.

The chief executive officer of Maritime Network Sdn Bhd said about two months had elapsed since the report was lodged on June 5, but no formal written response had been received confirming its status or the authority responsible for the matter.

In a letter to MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abdul Halim Aman yesterday, Jeyenderan said his company had cooperated fully with the relevant authorities, including by providing documents and information, attending meetings and furnishing clarifications when requested.

“Our sole objective has been to establish the official position and to obtain clear direction on how the affected operations may be managed lawfully and responsibly,” he said in a statement today.

He said the absence of an official response had created a serious operational situation, particularly as decisions involving the handling, movement and management of petroleum cargo could not responsibly be left in indefinite uncertainty.

“Decisions affecting the handling, movement and management of petroleum cargo cannot responsibly be left in indefinite uncertainty.

“Our operations require a clear regulatory direction, yet no authority has provided a definitive written position identifying what may proceed, what must be suspended, what additional controls are required, or which agency has responsibility for making those determinations,” he said.

Jeyenderan said the issue was not merely a private commercial disagreement, as it could affect the integrity and traceability of petroleum cargo, customs and petroleum regulatory compliance, government revenue and accountability within the supply chain.

He also cautioned that the absence of a coordinated response could result in different authorities or parties adopting inconsistent positions.

“We cannot reasonably be expected to manage operations according to informal, incomplete or contradictory communications while an official report is said to remain under investigation,” he said.

He also sought clarification on whether any determination had been made that there was “no case”, whether the matter had been closed and, if so, the procedural basis for the decision.

Jeyenderan said the company was not seeking confidential investigative information, but basic procedural accountability and clear operational direction.

On Aug 14, the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy identified Malaysia among more than 40 countries at risk of facilitating tariff evasion through China-linked transshipment networks.

In its report, The Great Transshipment Scam: Rise, Scope, and Costs, the US placed Malaysia in Tier 2 alongside Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam, citing its deep-water ports, manufacturing hubs and free trade zones as potential conduits for rerouting Chinese goods to evade US tariffs.

The report said Malaysia serves as both a manufacturing and logistics hub, highlighting the Penang-Kulim industrial corridor and Port Klang Free Zone.