Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn
Personnel now stationed at all terminals registered with board to keep wayward boat operators at bay
KUCHING: Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) now has a tighter grasp on happenings at boat terminals in the state following the recruitment of 40 additional enforcement officers this year.
In fact, the board has stationed enforcement officers at all terminals registered with them to ensure that all boat operators toe the line, and not try to make a fast buck by overloading their vessels.
In addition, SRB chairman Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn said new stations had been opened at Bakun and Nanga Peraran, while the Belaga and Daro stations had been reopened.
“We have recruited 40 additional officers this year, and we will submit requests to the Chief Minister’s Department to
increase the number of enforcement officers from time to time (as necessary),” he told reporters after presenting awards to the winners of a landscape beautification competition organised by Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) yesterday.
In the wake of the Kawan Mas express boat tragedy that claimed three lives in May this year, SRB was heavily criticised when it admitted it did not have enough personnel to monitor all the passenger jetties and express boats movements in the state.
A total of 219 people were rescued in that boat tragedy.
Investigations revealed that Kawan Mas was heavily overloaded and had picked up passengers from Bakun and proceeded to Belaga where it unloaded some passengers before capsizing at Tanjung Kukuk, Batu Bungan, about an hour downriver from Belaga bazaar.
Meanwhile, Sagah, who is also Tarat assemblyman, urged boat passengers and boat operators to exercise more caution when using river transport at this time of year.
“(We ask for more) awareness and cooperation from the public, especially those using river boats to return to their villages to celebrate Christmas, and children returning to school.
“As it is also the monsoon season, the rivers may be faster flowing, and more boat passengers are also expected so they should be more aware not to overload the boats.
“If there are many passengers, operators can request for a temporary permit and we at the board will process and give approval as soon as possible.”
He added that SRB had yet to receive any application for temporary permits, probably because boat operators might be waiting to see if the number of passengers over this festive season was high enough to warrant applying for it.