Assessment and Ranking of Inland Navigation Practices in Malaysia: The Case of Kenyir Lake

Abstract

Inland navigation does not reside under the purview of international standards and conventions as it is up to the local authorities to manage its operation. This study aims to establish empirical data on navigation practices on Kenyir Lake, Malaysia which is the largest artificial lake in South East Asia that was created primarily for power generation in 1985. Its natural and human-made features result in a multi-use lake involving navigation. The objective of this study is to determine who the users are, the type of vessels used, and the availability of navigational aids and the economic contribution of Kenyir Lake. The research approach was based on a combination of exploratory and descriptive methods utilising observations, interviews and surveys. The study identified and categorised the users into five different criteria, namely 1) government, 2) business, 3) tourism, 4) personal and 5) others that were engaged with navigation on the lake using speedboats and houseboats. Using an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, the pair-wise comparison matrix of all navigation users was analysed and ranking tourism as the highest activity. Furthermore, it was further observed that navigation on the lake does not conform to international standards and conventions as practised elsewhere in Malaysia. It is anticipated that the local authorities will benefit from this empirical study to further enhance navigation safety practices and efficiency in managing all water activities and users at Kenyir Lake, Malaysia. Keywords: Kenyir Lake, Navigation Safety, Analytical Hierarchy Process, Marine Sustainability, Inland Water Transport