FERRY OPERATOR TO MP: QUERY MINISTRY

LABUAN: The Executive Chairman of Labuan Ferry Corporation Sdn Bhd (LFC) Peter Kong admitted that his company is not providing the 50 per cent discount for ferry users yet.

He said this is because there are no guidelines on the matter from the Ministry.

We need to know how the discount should be paid and how we would be repaid and how soon.

"Until such matters are cleared we are unable to make the discount as we would be risking losses," added Peter Kong.

He was commenting on a statement by local Member of Parliament Datuk Yussof Mahal that there was confusion on the discount as ferry and boat operators did not extend the discount to passengers and commercial vehicles.

This was despite it having been approved by the Government and the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry having said that RM17.5 million had been set aside to disburse the discount through a subsidiary of Labuan Corporation.

Yussof as should query the Ministry on the mater, including Labuan Corporation of which he is Chairman, and settle it at the higher level than have anymore meetings with us. We are prepared to implement the discount," said Peter.

Scores of ferry and boat users who were looking forward to be the first to enjoy the discount were disappointed when they were told there was no discount yet.

LFC is the biggest of the two companies operating ro-ro ferry service between here and Menumbok and with the end of the holidays, hundreds of them returned home and had to pay the full fare.

Those who stood gain most from the discount were passengers who used speed boats from Menumbok to Labuan or Kota Kinabalu to Labuan and return as the passengers fare was higher between RM14 to RM28 unlike the fare of ro-ro which was merely RM5 one way.

Meanwhile, Labuan DAP Chairman here, Lau Seng Kiat said it was a disappointing New Year for hundreds of private car owners as the 50 per cent ferry fare discount did not apply to such vehicles.

"This should not be the case because the discount announced under the 2013 budget it clearly, stated that it was for all users of ferries linking Labuan to Sabah as well as to Sarawak, and the discount also applied to commercial vehicles," said Lau.

He said that the 50 per cent discount on private cars mattered much because a majority of them are using such vehicles to exit from the island, were employers or from middle-income group, the discount would have helped ease their financial cost of travelling to the mainland at least several times a year to visit their relatives or for other reasons.

The fare discount which came into effect on Jan 1st applied on to Malaysian ferry passengers and to vehicles which hold permit from the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (CVLB).

The Government has set aside RM17.5 million for the discount and the amount would be paid through Labuan Corporation to ferry/boat operators providing the discount.

Lau said that it was more important to extend the discount to private car owners than commercial vehicles because commercial vehicles were in the transportation business and had the means to recover their expenditure while private care owners paid the fare out of their own pocket, and there was also no assurance that the discount given to commercial carriers would be passed down to the consumers, since there was no monitoring on this, the discount could only create extra profits to the operators, those deserving should be given the discount." (DE)