KUCHING, April 10 ― Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri James Masing today said the Kuching Port Authority (KPA) is doing its best to repair the damage to its Senari Port's computer system caused by water entering its electronic conduit.

He said he has been assured by the KPA that the repair will be done within the next few days and  that the situation will return to normal.

"KPA is keeping the shippers inform of the progress of the repair,” Masing, who is the state minister of infrastructure and port development, said when contacted by Malay Mail to respond to a complaint by Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen that the Senari Port's  computer system has been out for about two weeks.

In a statement yesterday, Chong claimed that due to the breakdown of the computer system, the  rate of retrievals of containers from the port is now down by more than 50 per cent as the process of container receiving and delivery has to be done manually.

"In this era of technology,  it is most unbelievable and unacceptable that the computer system for such an important service of a government agency can break down for such a long time and without any indication when the system will be restored for operation,” he said.

He said the breakdown of the computer system is not only affecting those in the haulage service, delaying in the shipments of cargo, but also causing huge losses to the business sector in general.

He urged the state government to take this matter seriously by implementing an immediate and prompt solution to the matter.

He also claimed that the cargo delivery facilities in the  Senari Port have always been plagued with problems and breakdowns over the years.

"This is despite the fact that the state government has privatised such service,” he said.