KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 (Bernama) -- Malaysian ports' handling of 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers rose 4.9 per cent or 484,531 TEUs in the first half of this year, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said today.

He said Port Klang, Malaysia's premier port, was the major container handler during the period, with 5,003,538 million TEUs to its credit.

Last year, the port handled 3,672,036 million TEUs or 4.6 per cent, the minister said in a statement today.

Kong said Port Klang improved to 13th spot last year from 16th placing in 2007 in the world ranking, while the Tanjung Pelepas Port in Johor moved one notch up to 17th placing from its 18th position in 2007 and 2008.

"Overall, Malaysian ports still recorded a positive growth in container handling in the first half of this year," he added.