Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

Social distancing needs to be imposed aboard passenger ferries plying between Labuan and the mainland, according to State Secretary Datuk Safar Untong.

“We leave it to the service operator as to how this will be implemented inside these vessels,” he said.

“Ideally, however, there should be empty seats separating one passenger from another.”

He said a minimum distance of one-metre should still be observed when it came to seating the public.

“The pilot and ferry staff, as well as passengers, must don face masks and use hand sanitiser.” The services of passenger ferries and speedboats were temporarily halted when the MCO began on March 18.

Only roro – or vehicle – ferries had been allowed to operate, at that time, but were restricted to one trip per day.

When Stage 2 of the MCO came into affect on April 1, it was decided that passenger ferries could resume their services but with minimal trips.

Speedboats still remain berthed, however, during this extension which goes till April 14.

Untung said the move to reinstate travel on passenger ferries was taken as the Government was sympathetic to the plight of those involved in essential services.

“These workers might have to move essential goods between the island and Menumbok.” A spokeswoman for the ferry operator said its passenger vessels made three separate trips from Labuan to the mainland daily, and likewise from Menumbok to the island.

She said customers were obliged to wear face-masks and undergo a temperature-check prior to boarding.

“Should they require it, passengers should bring their own sanitiser,” she said.

On a query from a Likas father about getting a refund for fare he purchased earlier this year, so that his son could take the ferry from Labuan to Menumbok, another spokesman recommended that the parent contact the ticketing office.

The youngster, who attends a college on the island, is apparently grounded on the campus until the MCO is lifted.

In light of this, the parent is hoping that the ferry operator will consider converting the existing ticket into an open one.

The dad provided Hotline with the particulars of his son’s ticket which were forwarded to the company.

The spokesman hoped to learn more about this situation from the father.

“We strongly recommend that he cancel the existing ticket and receive the partial reimbursement we can offer for this passage,” he said.

“He can use these funds to secure a new ticket for his son after the MCO is over.”

He said the firm needed a copy of his son’s ticket to begin processing this refund.

The resident should liaise with Hotline to find out whom to speak to about this matter.

KIUN of Likas said his son had planned to travel to Menumbok on a Thursday afternoon in the second week of April.

“Eventhough the ferry, which was slated to make the journey, is still operating, my son and his peers are not as yet allowed to leave the college,” he said.

“Furthermore, we wouldn’t get him to make the trip, even if he could do so.

“The government has already made it clear that citizens are not encouraged to ‘pulang kampung (return to their home towns)’ during the MCO.”

He said he had made the company’s Labuan office aware of his son’s predicament.

“The staff who dealt with me informed me that I could change the original travel date, but that I would be liable to a RM10 surcharge if I did so.

“I was made to understand that I would only be entitled to receive half the original cost of the ticket if I had this passage cancelled.”

Kiun said he was seriously looking to defer his son’s trip.

“I don’t mind paying the penalty to change the date of the ticket, but I do not know when it may be safe to travel again.

“Based on my observations of Covid-19 developments in the country, I strongly suspect that the MCO might be extended multiple times.”

He felt it was unfair of the ferry operator to penalise customers, who like himself, were merely adhering to the government’s call to remain put and not travel unnecessarily.

“I hope the management might exercise some compassion during this trying time and give us an open ticket, if not a full refund.” Hotline tried contacting the college administration regarding the parent’s claims about the students not being allowed to leave the institution.

Multiple calls were made to the college but in each instance no one picked up the general line. (SS)