Penang’s ferries sail into choppy future

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 17): Ferries have been icons of the Pearl of The Orient for decades. In an age where there were no bridges linking the mainland of Peninsular Malaysia to Penang island, they were the main mode of transport to cross the waters.

There have been plans to upgrade this ferry service, with the latest announced earlier this month by Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

He said Prasarana Malaysia Bhd plans to allocate RM90 million for this endeavour.

From the planned allocation, Loke said RM21 million will be used to buy new passenger-only ferries (catamaran) for this year and next.

Prasarana, via its subsidiary Rapid Ferry Sdn Bhd, took over the operations of ferry services in Penang from Penang Port Sdn Bhd on May 1, 2018.

But it looks like this may not happen anytime soon.  

According to a report by The Star, Prasarana is cash-strapped and “cannot give a clear indication of its plans”.
“It looks like there will not be any major expansion and we can definitely rule out new catamaran ferries for now,” a former senior official of the Penang Port Commission told The Star.

The report also revealed that RM13.7 million from the RM90 million is supposed to be used for repairs on six existing ferries over three years, but even that is now in doubt.

“Why would Prasarana spend millions to expand the terminal when the service is running at a loss and the RM90 million allocation is merely to sustain the existing operation?” a former state executive councillor told the English daily.

The former state executive councillor conceded that catamaran ferries can provide high- speed comfort but he questioned if people would pay the significantly higher price to use such a mode of transport.

Meanwhile, Penang Rapid Ferry head Muhammad Yazurin Sallij said the company “will follow the minister’s lead”.

“We will have to go with only this for now and I can’t comment on what the other plans are,” Muhammad Yazurin told The Star when asked if bringing the catamarans had been planned when Prasarana took over about three months ago.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has also said that the ferry service has to be upgraded and is in support of the use of passenger catamarans.

Ferry services for Penang began as early as 1894. Ferries began transporting vehicles by 1925.

According to records, the bulk of the vessels used as ferries today were constructed in the mid-1970s. They are basically two types -- one with the lower deck for vehicles and the upper deck for passengers, and the others have both decks for vehicles.