Dagang Net To Formulate ASW Model Framework In 18 Months

18 Jan, 2010
BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- Dagang Net Technologies Sdn Bhd, the operator of Malaysia's National Single Window (NSW), is expected to come up with an Asean Single Window (ASW) model framework within 18 months.

Its Chairman, Datuk Dr Syed Muhamad Syed Abdul Kadir, said several Asean member countries were interested to emulate Malaysia's successful NSW model.

"The Asean secretariat in Jakarta has been actively participating in making this happen. They have requested us to come up with a model and for us to work with Indonesia first," he told reporters at the Asia-Europe Alliance (ASEAL) Summit on Paperless Trade opened by International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

Syed Muhamad said due to differences in level of development within 10 Asean member countries, the Asean Single Window which facilitates faster trade activities among member countries, was expected to experience a delay in terms of implementation.

According to the original plan, the ASW is expected to be fully implemented within 2012 and 2015.

Syed Muhamad said against this backdrop, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry was pushing for a bilateral ASW pilot project with countries which already have their own National Single Window.

According to earlier agreements on ASW, each member country needs to have its own National Single Window before it can have an Asean Single Window. So far, only six countries, including Malaysia, have their own national single window.

Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam have yet to have their own national single window and are currently working with Dagang Net to assist them with the formulation of a system.

Malaysia's NSW which is called "myTradeLink" currently conducts a minimum of 120,000 electronic transactions daily.

Syed Muhamad said since September last year, the company has been working on enhanced features for myTradeLink which is expected to be completed in 18 months.

For that, the company has invested about RM18 million in terms of system upgrade and additional personnel.

Services offered by myTradeLink include eDeclare, ePayment, eManifest, ePermit and ePreferential Certificate of Origin.

Among the additional features includes the addition of 11 permit issuance agencies in ePermit from the current 19 agencies.

Meanwhile, Mukhriz, in his speech earlier, said Malaysia exchanged information with Indonesia and the Philippines and successfully transmitted 4,185 Common Effective Preferential Tariffs (CEPT) to Indonesia and 889 CEPT to the Phillipines, which were viewed as pilot projects towards the implementation of the Asean Single Window.