A shipping industry player has expressed concern that the absence of permanent Customs Department personnel at the Pengerang Port in Johor will affect Malaysia’s competitiveness against regional ports like Singapore.

Maritime Network Sdn Bhd founder R Jeyendran said the lack of an operational Customs office within the port area, coupled with operating hours that do not align with 24-hour port activities, forces industry players to endure time losses of up to 10 hours for every ship arrival and departure.

“The main problem is...