SEPANG: The Transport Ministry has issued a stern warning against a port operator for allowing a container belonging to an Israeli shipping company to leave the premises.
Its minister Anthony Loke said his ministry received a report that the port operator mistakenly allowed the container owned by ZIM to exit the premises.
Loke did not identify the operator or the port.
“We have reprimanded the operator of this port. We do not want such an incident to happen again,” he told reporters here today.
Loke was asked to comment on a now-deleted clip in TikTok, which has gone viral on the social media.
According to the user, the lorry carrying the container bearing the ZIM’s logo was spotted on a highway about noon on March 16.
Loke said the port operator should have not allowed the container to leave.
This, he said, followed the government decision on Dec 19 last year to ban ships operated by Israeli shipping companies from docking at Malaysian ports, including Port Klang.
After the instruction has been enforced, Loke said the remaining containers belonging to ZIM were allowed only to return to their place of origin or other countries.
“Supposedly, there are still four to five containers still in the port in the country.
“Unfortunately, one has left the port (due to the mistake made by the operator of the port).
“Nevertheless, we have reprimanded the operator,” he said.
Loke also stressed that no ships from Israel were allowed to dock at ports in Malaysia after the ban was imposed.
It was reported that the government last year a ship operated by ZIM, scheduled to dock in Port Klang was prohibited from doing so.
This follows the decision by the Malaysian government to indefinitely ban Israeli-owned ships from docking at all ports in the country.