SIBU: A sorry sight of about 20 express boats moored at the Sibu-Kapit wharf, also known as Sibu Express Terminal, has left officials wondering what to do about them.
Newly appointed Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Datuk Alice Jawan who visited the wharf could not help but notice the dire situation.
“I agreed at the request of Alice to speak to the express boat association to find a solution,” said SMC chairman Clarence Ting in a Facebook posting on Today (Oct 29) after accompanying her on the visit.
The riverine transport has been reduced to a mere alternative with the opening of the road linking Kapit to Sibu through Song and Kanowit in Oct 2019.
The Sibu-Kapit terminal which used to be a hive of activities from dawn to dusk with boats arriving and leaving is now a forlorn sight as there is only an express boat service to Kapit and back.
The boat leaves the Sibu Express Terminal at 8am to Kapit and departs for Sibu from Kapit at 10.30am daily – a sharp contrast to the 18 trips per day from 5.45am until 2.30pm from Sibu to Kapit and 6.15am to 3.15 pm from Kapit to Sibu before the road was built.
Thus, the express boats that are not being used have been moored at the wharf.
In another development Ting said the Sibu River Board (SRB) and Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) could work together with villagers to clear rubbish brought in by the tide.
“We took a ride to check on the sunken pontoon at Jalan Khoo Peng Loong and then to see the plastic debris at Kampong Datu and Kampong Hilir.
“We agreed SRB and SMC can work together with the kampung folks to clear the rubbish brought by the tides and the timber debris near Kingwood hotel must also be resolved,” he said.
