Kota kinabalu: Expanding Sabah’s Ministry of Works into a full-fledged Ministry of Transport and Works is the most practical, cost-effective, and administratively sound solution to address the state’s persistent logistics fragmentation, said a logistics expert. Former president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Malaysia and vice-president of CILT International for Southeast Asia, Datuk Dr Ramli Amir, said the move offers a more immediate and integrated response compared to creating a new ministry.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Dr Ramli emphasized that Sabah’s logistics challenges stem more from institutional fragmentation than infrastructure gaps, with overlapping agency mandates resulting in poor coordination and economic inefficiencies. He highlighted the lack of a single authority managing Kota Kinabalu’s transit, noting governance issues, inconsistent services, and the dominance of private vehicle use due to a lack of strategic oversight.
Dr Ramli pointed out that even road hauliers operate across fragmented jurisdictions, reinforcing the need for a unified ministry to streamline responsibilities and improve trade facilitation. He cited the federal cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in December 2023 as a precedent for structural reforms aimed at improved governance.
He explained that the Sabah Constitution permits such changes and referenced similar expansions, such as renaming the Agriculture Ministry to include Food Industry and the Industrial Ministry to include Entrepreneurship. Dr Ramli also noted that while the Sabah Logistics Council plays a role, it lacks the mandate and leadership to address systemic issues effectively.
Dr Ramli suggested that under a Ministry of Transport and Works, the council could become a strong execution body, with the proposal aligning with the National Transport Policy 2019-2030, which promotes better agency coordination and integrated systems. He argued that an expanded Sabah ministry would not only support national objectives but also enable focused, state-level solutions suited to Sabah’s geography and economy.
Dr Ramli proposed merging the Works Ministry’s mandate with transport planning, asserting ministerial authority over fragmented agencies, aligning with federal bodies, and optimising resources. He highlighted the complementary nature of transport and works, emphasizing the need for engineering to build and maintain roads, ports, and infrastructure, asserting that integration is logical.
He stressed that without a central authority, policies fall through the cracks and only a unified ministry can deliver an integrated master plan and unlock Sabah’s economic potential. Dr Ramli concluded that expanding the Works Ministry is a rational, constitutionally supported reform that would resolve the current vacuum and pave the way for transport modernisation, removing long-standing bottlenecks and allowing Sabah to have a single authority to drive logistics transformation.