The replacing of Penang’s iconic ferries with modern water buses was a cold and callous approach that ignored Penang’s unique heritage and history, said Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng.
He said it was the state’s heritage and history that played an important role as an economic generator of tourism.
“Ending the ferry service will take the romance out of going to Penang in the traditional manner, bearing in mind that George Town is a Unesco World Heritage city,” he said in a statement issued today.
The DAP secretary-general reminded the federal government that heritage and history are something that money cannot buy and should be treasured for future generations.
In a statement, the former Penang chief minister said his administration had offered to take over the ferry services in 2015 but was flatly refused by the transport ministry then.
Lim said the recent news of the old ferries that have been operating for 126 years being scrapped was a form of betrayal by the Perikatan Nasional and MCA president Wee Ka Siong, the transport minister.
He said this was not the first time Penangites were being sidelined, saying a RM100 million allocation for the Penang Hill cable car project was halted by the present government. Lim said even a federal-backed guarantee for a light rail transit project was stopped.
“DAP urges the transport ministry to have a heart and not abandon Penang and its iconic ferry service. Many countries still retain their original ferry services even though it may not be economical due to their intrinsic worth and intangible value to heritage and history.”
He claimed that the former PH government had transferred the Penang ferry service back to Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) from Prasarana Bhd, with the understanding that the iconic Penang ferry must be retained together with cash payments as an incentive.
“Not just Penangites but many Malaysians who loved using the Penang ferry service to commute to Penang island are sad at the PN government’s justification for terminating the ferry service as being driven by statistics and economics, rather than emotions or politics,” he said.
Lim was responding to an official announcement by Penang Port Commission chairman Datuk Tan Teik Cheng yesterday that the old ferries will be stopped entirely by 2022 and replaced by water buses and vehicle transporters.
Tan also announced that only one ferry will continue to operate until July 2022 to transport bicycles and motorcycles, while other passengers will need to take fast ferries from the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal.
There will not be any ferries to transport four-wheeled vehicles to and fro between the island and the mainland from January 1 onwards.