Paper Title
The Sustainability Stimulus Of Local (Smes) Freight Forwarders In Malaysian Maritime Transportation Sector Towards Competitive Vigilance Of Single Asean Liberalized Market

Abstract
In correspondence to the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint of ASEAN single market in 2015 has affected the Malaysian liberalized policy. Lead to fully liberalized of Malaysian freight forwarder (MFF). Exposing to complex and fiercer market competition to the Malaysian economy due to the free flow of goods and services, investment, skilled employees, technology, and FDI. Apparently, the concern on trade liberalization and economic integration among ASEAN countries has shown a reduction in the MFFSMEs entrepreneurs which is the main pillars of maritime transportation. In 2007 there were only 54 freight forwarders companies in Penang with 14 out 54 were the foreign IFF (Penang Freight Forwarders Association, 2007). Compared to 2013, 115 local MFF companies versus 976 foreign companies (Federation of Malaysian Freight Forwarders, 2013). This showed the number of foreign IFFs has posted their strong establishment throughout the nation. Only a few empirical studies conducted on the freight forwarders SMEs industry in Malaysia. This research aims to fill the gap by assessing the MFF (SMEs) sustainability and vigilant towards a dynamic ASEAN single market. Thus, local players have to be more responsive to customer needs, operational quality of service with cost efficiency, professionalism, and GST implementation in ensuring business sustainability (ESCAP, 2011). Using the SPSM model of Bansal and Taylor (1999), Heesupe.t. al., (2011) evaluated the switching intentions of the customer in an industry. The research aims to propose a new comprehensive local MFF SWIFT Model that exploring the sustainability of MFF (SMEs) entrepreneur participation in Maritime Transportation sector. The potential outcomes of this study are: 1) A new comprehensive framework which concentrates on the sustainability of the local MFF in the maritime transportation sector 2) A numbers of strategies will be proposed as a proactive action in facing the complex vigilant due to single ASEAN market.