Labuan Folks unhappy with the inneficient ferry services

LABUAN: Labuanites are crying for a more efficient sea transport system.
They are hoping for improved ferry services between the international offshore financial centre and Menumbok on the mainland Sabah.
For years they have been asking for better services and a survey conducted by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry found over 60% of the people unhappy with the overall ferry services which they say are inefficient.
The survey of some 3,500 people found that 68% were unhappy with the passenger boat ferry service between Labuan and Menumbok while 66% were unhappy with the car-cum-passenger ferry service on the same route.
The respondents were unhappy over erratic fare rates and schedules especially during peak season. They also highlighted poor safety and hygiene conditions on both the passenger and car ferries plying the route.
The people felt that the island needs to be connected efficiently with the mainland as they rely on a large number of goods and services from mainland Sabah in view of diminishing number of cargo ships docking at its port.
At the heart of the issue is the monopoly of the car and passenger ferry services between the island and Menumbok about 140km from Kota Kinabalu, that many people feel should be opened up to free competition.
The permit for a new operator though issued by the federal Transport Ministry must however get the green light of the Sabah Government under the relevant regulations of the state ordinance to give the landing rights to a new operator.
Whilst the federal Transport Ministry is supporting the move to allow new players in the ferry services between Labuan and Menumbok, the state government appears to be lukewarm on the possibility of allowing others in.
Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman indicated that the state was ready to discuss the matter at its Cabinet meeting but urged the current operator Labuan Ferry Corporation to improve its services in the interim.
However, Labuan Ferry Corporation executive director Peter Kong said that there was not enough passenger and vehicle load to accommodate a second operator for the Labuan-Menumbok sea link.
He foresees competition will sink both businesses, as the main load factors are mainly during weekends and holidays only while the revenue on weekdays can hardly cover the high operational cost.
“If there is a new operator, both competitors will struggle to keep afloat,” cautioned Kong whose company is promising to acquire a new ferry boat by next year to improve service.
With the proposed 11km bridge between Labuan and Sabah not likely to be included under the 10th Malaysia Plan, the islanders feel that priority should now be given to improving the ferry services.
The legalities involved in allowing another ferry operator on the route is not going down well with Labuan Consumer Action Council (LCAC) chairman Fauziah Din.
“People must come first,” Fauziah said in asking the powers-that-be for better services for the consumers.
Passenger traffic between Sabah and Labuan has swelled over the years and people are resorting to sea travel as air travel has become costlier.
For many Labuanites, it is time to end the nearly two decades of ferry operations monopoly and they believe that new operators will definitely bring about efficiency and better services for consumers.
Whatever the arguments, the ending of a monopoly is necessary for improving the flow of goods and services to and from the island that became a Federal Territory in 1983.