Zambo ferry priority to Sabah deportees
Published on: Friday, March 03, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Standard Marine Agencies, the local-based ticketing agent for Aleson Shipping Lines operating the Sandakan-Zamboanga ferry service, said they are now back to plying the sea route twice a week, with priority given to Filipinos being deported from Sabah.With a passenger load capacity of 500 people, the vessel M/V Mary Joy 2 departs Zamboanga port every Monday and Thursday.According to him, the Zamboanga-based mother company has given priority to Filipino illegal deportees in its Tuesday return trip while paying passengers are accommodated every Friday.
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However, the ferry will allow boarding of deportees on Fridays upon request from the Immigration Department in Sabah.The regular ferry services which began in the 1990s had been engaged by the Malaysian Government to deport Filipinos caught staying in Sabah illegally.On the rationale in giving priority to Filipino deportees, the source said the decision was in accordance with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Rasak's request last year to President Rodrigo Duterte to assist in the repatriation of the estimated 7,000 undocumented Filipinos held at the various holding centres in Sabah.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"We provide single free meal to all the deportees during the 23-hour sea journey. Our counterpart in Zamboanga is also working closely with the relevant local authorities there to ensure that only properly documented passengers are allowed to board the ferry bound for Sandakan," he said. - Nikko Fabian
