KUALA LUMPUR – The Port Klang Authority (PKA) has been instructed to execute Putrajaya’s decision not to allow ships affiliated with Israeli shipping company ZIM to dock at Malaysian ports with immediate effect, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said.
PKA is working with logistics and shipping companies, importers and exporters in managing cargo that will be affected.
“This also means that the ZIM ship scheduled to dock at Port Klang on December 26 will not be allowed,” Loke said in a statement.
This morning, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced an immediate ban on ZIM vessels from docking or loading cargo at Malaysian ports as a response to Israel’s continued strikes on Gaza in violation of basic humanitarian principles.
The decision also applies to ships displaying the Israeli flag and those headed to Israel ports.
Anwar said the Transport Ministry would be taking immediate action to implement the ban, which he said Malaysia would impose permanently.
His move is an undoing of a cabinet decision in 2002 to allow Israeli-owned ships to dock in Malaysia, which was upheld by the cabinet in 2005.
“However, the government today has decided to cancel these decisions made by the previous cabinets,” Anwar said today.
At least 19,667 Palestinians have been killed from the war, which remains ongoing since October 7. The death toll from Hamas’ attack on Israel stands at nearly 1,140. – December 20, 2023