Sabah’s sole turkey exporter, Ooi Say Tuan, has received the nod to resume exports of the bird to peninsular Malaysia. Ooi had told local media on Wednesday that he will be forced to dump RM200,000 of turkey meat, holed up at Kota Kinabalu Port for two weeks, into the sea “since it is going bad”.

Veterinary Services Department (VSD) director-general Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin said in a statement that the approval to resume exports came with a condition that the next time Ooi would be required to comply with new stiffer conditions being imposed. He did not elaborate on them.

Dr Aziz denied that there was any misunderstanding between the VSD and the Sabah Department of Veterinary Services and Animal Industries (Dovsai) over Ooi or the export and import of livestock products between peninsular Malaysia and Sabah.

“However, there’s a need to streamline the difference in law requirements in peninsular Malaysia and Sabah on livestock products,” said Dr Aziz. “It’s not true that there is a war between the VSD and the Dovsai.”

Dr Aziz, also stressed that unlike in Sabah which is free of infectious livestock-related diseases, “a higher requirement is imposed in peninsular Malaysia on the import of livestock”.

“As far as we are concerned, there’s nothing wrong with Ooi’s meat products. He has exported them before to peninsular Malaysia without any hitch,” said Dovsai director Dr Yeo Boon Kiat. “Suddenly, peninsular Malaysia is not allowed to import his meat.”

Dr Yeo agreed that the authorities in peninsular Malaysia are concerned with meeting standards under the Veterinary Health Mark (VHM) and Good Animal Husbandry Practices (GAHP).

State Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Yahya Hussin, meanwhile, said that the state government has yet to impose certification standards on livestock products. This follows Sabah and Sarawak being declared free of rabies and livestock diseases.

‘Victim of peninsular firm's non-compliance’

Ooi, setting the record straight for his farm, that a certain little Napoleon at the VSD decided to bar imports from his farm after a meat exporter from peninsular Malaysia was not allowed to export to Sabah.

“We checked with Dovsai and found that the peninsular Malaysian exporter had been trying to sneak his products into Sabah without the necessary import permits and approvals from the state,” said Ooi. “So, we became a victim of the peninsular Malaysian firm’s non-compliance with the laws in Sabah.”

Ooi, once bitten twice shy, plans to diversify his market away from peninsular Malaysia to Sarawak, Brunei and the Philippines.

 Kota Kinabalu lawyers in the know say that Sabah and Sarawak’s rights over veterinary services and animal husbandry were stipulated in the Ninth Schedule (List III Concurrent List) under Article 74 of the federal constitution. The constitutional arrangements, in force since 1963, have a real impact on ordinary businesses, it is said.

“Government departments do not feel business losses,” said one lawyer. “But to the business community, a loss of RM200,000 could kill a company and make many people jobless.”

Most international trade permits have to approved by Putrajaya but on a case-by-cases basis. The business community in Sabah laments that the sheer volume of paperwork involved, compliance with numerous regulations and travel to and from Putrajaya inflict prohibitive costs and takes a toll on the Sabah economy.