Supply chain disruption likely in Malaysia if truck driver strike worsens.

Chester Tay & Intan Farhana Zainul, Oct $2023$

KUALA LUMPUR $($Oct $19)$: Malaysia$$s ongoing truck driver strike, which started and remains largely limited to the east coast states, is threatening to once again disrupt the country$$s supply chain that is still going through a nascent recovery post$-$pandemic. Transportation from raw materials like iron ore, steel bar and concrete products, to basic needs like food and beverages appear to be throttling in the past few days amid widely circulated WhatsApp messages calling for a truck drivers$$ strike until Sunday $($Oct $22).$

Several construction companies contacted by The Edge said that the current strike among the lorry drivers have reduced the productivity of their construction sites as many of the raw materials delivery did not come in$.$ Another construction executive pointed out some of the construction sites have reduced their activities to around $30\%$ as the strike had started since the beginning of this month.

Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Trucking Association $($Seklta$)$ secretary general Jeff Teh said some of the association$$s members have avoided serving the east coast region temporarily for fear of risking their drivers$$ safety.

The widely circulated calls for truck drivers to go on strike may lead to personal issues among the drivers who are seen as not being united with the striking drivers.

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Teh explained that the current strike came about after a series of trucks being seized by enforcement agencies, which appear to be more stringent in enforcing the road transport laws, after several fatal accidents involving overloaded trucks.

$$Overloading is not rare in Malaysia. So$,$ there are two laws to deal with overloading, if a truck is overloaded up to $34\mathrm{.}9\%,$ it falls under the Road Transport Act $1987,$ which would result in two compounds of RM$300,$ one each to the driver and to the vehicle owner. $$For overloading above $35\%,$ it comes under the Land Public Transport Act $2010,$ which comes with a fine that could range between RM$1,000$ to RM$500,000,$ with maximum imprisonment of two years, and the enforcement agency can seize the vehicle,$$ he explained.

On Tuesday, local media reported that over $1,000$ truck drivers demonstrated at the Kuantan Road Transport Department $($JPJ$).$ This came after more than $1,000$ lorry drivers staged a protest in Terengganu at the state$$s JPJ office on Oct $15.$ The drivers handed over a memorandum to the local police listing eight demands, including raising the allowance for loading by $50\%$ and proposed a fine on load consignors in case of overloading.

These lorry drivers also demanded that drivers should not be fined and lamented that the weighing facilities at JPJ are not accurate. While there is a proposal for the Ministry of Transport $($MOT$)$ to ease loading regulations, concerns that overloaded trucks could cause damage to the country$$s road need to be balanced.

The Malaysia Trucking Federation $($MTF$)$ had on Tuesday issued a statement that distanced itself from the strike and urged its members to $$ignore any announcement, audio messages or any written statements by any parties$$ to plan a nationwide protest. The federation called on its members to proceed with their normal daily operations, saying that they are obliged to obey the law and orders in Malaysia.

Seklta$$s Teh said the association and MTF shared similar views, whereby they hope to resolve the overloading issues through constructive engagement with the government. $$We also organised a press conference before, our call is for JPJ to consider abandoning mobile weighing facilities for trucks, because they seem less accurate and those permanent facilities that are built along the highways are more accurate, and we don$$t mind heading there,$$ he said.

Teh said Seklta also hopes the government could enact laws that in the event of overloading, enforcement agencies could engage with consignors in resolving this issue instead of penalising drivers and vehicle owners. $$To be fair, JPJ is heading in the right direction in addressing overloading, because those accidents can involve overloads of between $70\%$ and $140\%,$ which is dangerous,$$ he said.

The government, particularly the MOT, appears to be in a catch$-22$ situation with the public calling for more stringent enforcement on lorry and trucks to ensure road safety while the transportation players are complaining that their rice bowls are being squeezed under current rules and regulations.

a$.$ Identify the impacts of truck driver strike to industries, businesses, and consumers in Malaysia. $[25$ marks$]$

b$.$ Examine the root causes that driven truck driver strike in Malaysia. $[25$ marks$]$

c$.$ Suggest TWO $(2)$ strategies for the company to minimize the impacts of the strikes on business operation.

$[10$ marks$]$