New Tawau Ferry Terminal records 1,000 exit-entry
Published on: Friday, December 09, 2016
Tawau: Immigration counters at the Tawau Ferry Terminal on Monday recorded more than 1,000 passengers coming and going out of the Tawau Port from or to Nunukan and Tarakan in Indonesia. Tawau Immigration Department Chief Noraini Rasi said they did not face any problems even though the eight counters (compared to the four previous counters) were not fully operational due to unavoidable factors. She said the figure is the same as recorded when they were still operating at the Tawau Passenger Jetty or the old Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) centre which is now closed and only used by Pulau Sebatik residents going to the mainland in Tawau.
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"We have no problems, the facilities here are quite good and comfortable for the officers on duty, same goes for passengers coming and going," she said, adding that the actual record of visitors can only be obtained by end of December. These, she said, is due to no ferry movement from the Tawau Port on Tuesday, except for the cargo ships operating as usual, and that they also carry out duties in accordance to the Standard Operating Procedures related to the exit-entry of ferry passengers as well as cargo. Noraini said, however, they have not received any notification or official letter concerning ferry operators going on strike in Nunukan which resulted in trips to Tawau being cancelled allegedly because they disagreed with a number of things, including the new terminal charges. Meanwhile, Tawau Municipal Council President Alijus Sipil confirmed that no representatives from the government in Nunukan came to meet him over the alleged ship strike in the region following reports by Radar Nunukan.
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The newspaper on Wednesday quoted a Nunukan Information and Communication Head Drs Petrus Kanasius as saying that they were in Tawau on Tuesday to meet the Malaysian authorities but failed. Their arrival was said to voice out the plights of passenger ferry operators who do not agree with some of the reforms introduced in the Tawau Passenger Ferry.
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Alijus urged those unhappy with the changes to submit objections or appeals to the Sabah Ports Authority as the owner of the land and to the Fokasjadi Sdn Bhd as the concessionaire. "This matter will be discussed in the Tawau Ferry Terminal Technical Committee Management to be refined … rules and Standard Operating Procedure of the new terminal management has been discussed at the committee and any changes should be referred to the committee and the State government," he said. He hoped ferry operators will cooperate and continue operating at the new terminal, adding that any matter deemed to be negotiated may be discussed from time to time. The long-completed Tawau Ferry Terminal officially began operations on Monday with State Economic Planning Unit Director Datuk Osman Jamal saying that the terminal is the best in Sabah so far as it is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities which quickly allow for early detection of attempts to violate the law. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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