Kota kinabalu: The Institute for Development Studies (IDS) Sabah should be formally mandated to initiate the Sabah Integrated Logistics and Transport Masterplan to unlock the state's key progress in logistics planning, said logistics expert Datuk Ramli Amir.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Ramli, who is the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Malaysia's former president and CILT International for Southeast Asia vice-president, said IDS is well-positioned to play the lead role as a neutral research and policy advisory body capable of bringing together state and federal agencies, local authorities, industry players, and academia.
He emphasized that Sabah's logistics and transport development could no longer depend on fragmented initiatives involving ports, roads, rail, airports, industrial parks, and tourism corridors being planned separately. Ramli remarked, 'IDS can light the fuse for Sabah by turning a politically sensitive masterplan exercise into a structured, consultative and evidence-based process.'
Ramli highlighted that Sabah does not lack technical capability, but requires an institution with the credibility and mandate to initiate a plan that cuts across all modes of transport and key supply chains. He noted that many agencies are involved in logistics and transport, but no single body has taken clear ownership of a binding, integrated blueprint to determine priorities, corridors, hubs, and implementation sequencing.
'A real masterplan is not a wish list of projects. It must rank priorities, identify strategic corridors, and ensure infrastructure development is aligned with Sabah's long-term economic direction,' he asserted.
Ramli proposed that IDS could lead the early diagnostic work, map Sabah's freight and passenger movement needs, assess key supply chains, and propose a multi-modal strategy covering ports, roads, rail, airports, and industrial zones. He suggested that the proposed masterplan should also outline the governance, legal, and financing framework needed to ensure the plan would not remain merely a policy document.
He recognized the importance of the state's Ministry of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport (MINDET) as a core partner in the process due to its portfolio linking industry, entrepreneurship, and transport. However, Ramli cautioned that MINDET should not be expected to carry the initiative alone as Sabah's transport ecosystem involved various legacy agencies, port authorities, enforcement bodies, and planning units with different mandates.
'IDS can de-risk the process. It can convene the right stakeholders, prepare the technical groundwork, and later hand over a mature blueprint to MINDET and the State Cabinet for adoption,' he explained.
Ramli called for a clear cabinet mandate to be given to IDS to prepare the masterplan concept and roadmap within a defined timeframe. He also proposed the establishment of a high-level steering committee involving IDS, MINDET, finance authorities, key state and federal agencies, local authorities, and the private sector.
The process, Ramli mentioned, should determine the eventual implementing authority, whether through a strengthened transport portfolio within MINDET or a dedicated logistics body with proper coordination and enforcement powers. He concluded, 'Until Sabah addresses this institutional vacuum, the state will continue to talk about transformation while operating in a fragmented, high-cost and low-clarity logistics system.'