Raya without the familyBy CHRISTINA TAN (The Star-23 Sept 2008)
PORT KLANG: Although most Mus­lims are taking time off from work to be with their loved ones on Hari Raya, there are some who sacri­fice this joy because of their jobs.One such group is the port workers at Westport Malaysia Sdn Bhd who work round-the-clock to ensure the smooth running of the daily shipment of cargo.Quay crane operator Azhari Ibrahim, 37, is among the many Westport workers who will work this Hari Raya and miss celebrating it with his family in Alor Star for the sixth time since joining the company 10 years ago.Friendly atmosphere: Titus talking with his colleagues (from left) Hamidi Mohd Toha, Azhari,
Mohd Saleh Abinoh and Mohd Amir at Westport in Port Klang recently.
"Who doesn't want to spend time celebrating the festive occasion with their family? But for us, duty comes first," he said.He said it was tough enough having to spending the festive season without his parents and wife but this year it would be even more difficult because he would be missing the first Hari Raya celebration with his two-month-old daughter."The sadness lessens when I celebrate the first day of Hari Raya with my non-Muslim colleagues and also the Muslim ones who have to work through the festive period," he said."Everyone would come to work in their baju Melayu and have ketupat and rendang prepared by the company before they start work."Being a crane operator, Azhari will be on the seven-storey-high crane station to load and unload goods from the cargo vessels docked at the port in Pulau Indah.Dispatcher Mohd Amir Hassan, who provides job assignments to crane operators from the port's planning centre, said he had been working with Westport for 10 years and had spent most of his Hari Raya celebrations at the port."It is okay for me to spend Hari Raya at work, but my wife will merajuk (sulk) sometimes because she has to take the children back to Sungai Siput on her own," he said.Vessel operations manager Titus Raj Francis Xavier said quay crane operators and dispatchers were the most important groups and the port could not operate without them.He said that with Muslims making up 70% of the workforce at the port many of them sometimes have to wait several years for their turn to go on Hari Raya leave

(Group B team members :- Titus (VOM), Yassin (OPM), Ignatius (VPM), AJ (YPM), Yoges (SOM), Vijay (SOE)..wishing " Selamat Hari Raya".

Port Operator

A port operator east port authority or company that contracts with the Port Authority to move the cargo in a port to a minimum level of productivity. May they be state-owned (especially for port authorities) or private.

The job is to manage the movement of cargo containers between cargo ships, trucks and freight trains and optimize the flow of goods through customs in order to minimize the time a ship goes into port. The continued effectiveness involves the management and improvement of gantry cranes, berths, rivers, roads, storage facilities, communication equipment, computer systems and dockworkers union contracts. The port operator also manages the formalities, leases, security and port security.

General Info :-

A port is a facility for the reception of ships and cargo. They are usually found on the edge of an ocean, lake, river or lake. Ports have often cargo handling equipment such as cranes (operated by longshoremen) and forklift trucks for use in loading and unloading of vessels, possibly by private interests or public institutions. Often, canneries and other processing plants will be located nearby. Harbour pilots and tugs are often used to maneuver large ships in tight quarters as they approach and leave the docks. Ports where international traffic duty.

The terms "port" and "port" for ports to the ships, and "River Port" for inland navigation information services, such as barges and other shallow draft vessels. Some ports on a lake, river, canal or access to a lake or sea, and are also known as "inland ports". A "fishing port" is a kind of port or harbor facility particularly suitable for the landing and distribution of fish. A "dry port" is a term sometimes used to describe a yard used to bulk containers or conventional, usually to a sea port by rail or road. A "warm water port is a port, where the water does not freeze in winter. Because they are open all year round, warm water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest with the ports of St. Petersburg and Valdez as notable examples. A Port of Call "is an intermediate stop, for example, to collect the goods or fuel.



Cargo container enable efficient transport and distribution through the removal of smaller parcels to be any point transportation, and hence the shipping unit to be sealed for the entire journey. Standard containers can easily be loaded on a ship, train, truck or plane, a drastic simplification of intermodal transfers. Cargo often comes with the train and truck to consolidate to a port and loaded onto a large container ship for international transport.