MIMA, UTM collaborate to produce maritime-related data

KUALA LUMPUR: The Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) is working with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to produce the Malaysian Maritime Analytic Dashboard, a collection of maritime-related data that can help in preparing a national policy for the maritime industry.

MIMA director-general Datuk Dr Sabirin Ja’afar said that without the support of maritime-related data or ‘big data’ that encompass several main sectors, including fisheries, ports, security and tourism, it will be hard to formulate a policy or future action that meets the needs of the country.

“The national maritime policy has yet to be created, it has been suggested but went nowhere. Maybe with this data, it will make it easier for us to integrate, we will also present to them what is needed to use this big data and create the concept of a maritime nation.

“The results from the collaboration will be available in several weeks’ time...from this data we can present it to MIMA stakeholders, including the Royal Malaysian Navy, the National Security Council director-general, the Transport Ministry’s secretary-general and the Fisheries Department director-general,” he said when appearing as a guest on the ‘Ruang Bicara’ programme produced by Bernama TV here last night.

He said that a maritime-based long-term policy is very much needed currently as a guideline for the country’s maritime industry.

“For instance, the port industry, the latest being Thailand is aiming to build a land bridge from the Andaman Sea to the South China Sea. This requires in-depth research regarding the potential competition it will create, whether it would affect the number of ships at our ports and so on. A policy is needed to enable us to manage these maritime issues,” he said.

-- BERNAMA