Idul Fitri : 39,200 Indonesian Nationals Use Ferry to Return Home

Johor Baharu, 29 Ramadan 1437/05 July 2016  (MINA)  –  Since June 26, about 39,900 Indonesian nationals here used the ferry services in Johor to return to their villages to celebrate Idul Fitri.

State immigration department director, Rohaizi Bahari said a random check revealed not less than 5,600 Indonesians used the services at the eight terminals here daily.

He said this was expected to continue until July 5.

He said three of the terminals were in Johor Baharu (Stulang Laut, Pasir Gudang and Puteri Harbour), two in Kota Tinggi (Tanjung Pengelih and Tanjung Belungkor) and one each in Pontian, Batu Pahat and Muar.

However, the busiest ferry terminals were Stulang Laut and Pontian, with about 2,000 Indonesians each using the services daily, and at Pasir Gudang, the number hovered at 1,000.

“The peak period began since June 26, and is expected to continue until July 5, seeing there will be no ferry service for three to seven days from the first day of Hari Raya,” said Rohaizi when contacted by Bernama here Sunday.

He said the department expected the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link Highway to be congested from the first day of Hari Raya (tentatively July 6) until Sunday (July 10), with 234,000 visitors passing through via the Sultan Iskandar Building and the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex a day.

“To further smoothen operations for the festive season, we are prepared to open all counters at the ferry terminals, Causeway and the Second Link Highway.

“However, visitors are advised to plan their travel outside peak hours whereby, the information on congestion can be seen in various current applications in smart phones,” added Rohaizi who also urged ferry users to avoid ungazetted routes to return home.

Military personnel, marine police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency would routinely conduct patrols in the national territorial waters to monitor this, while the immigration department would conduct intelligence work based on public complaints. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)