THE controversy surrounding the stalled Labuan-Kota Kinabalu ferry service was due to Labuan’s failure to engage with Sabah on time, said Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmy Yahya.
Shahelmy, who is also Sabah Works Minister, pointed out that Labuan gave Sabah short notice to resume the service, saying officials from the federal territory island only engaged with state officials after the scheduled resumption on December 15, last year.
“They should have engaged with the local government before making the announcement. Instead, discussions only happened after it went public.
“After the announcement, communication between the ferry operator, Sabah port operator, Suria Capital, and the Sabah Ports Authority (LPPS) only took place sometime on December 17 or December 18," said Shahelmy when met at a site visit in Penampang today.
Stressing on the short notice, Shahelmy said the original Labuan-Kota Kinabalu jetty, Jesselton Point, has been declared unsafe since 2023.
He said that Labuan officials also requested the use of the Old Kota Kinabalu Port as an alternative, but the port has been designated for roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) services.
“They also requested to call at the ‘south jetty’ near the old port, but that jetty also requires repairs,” he said.
Sabah’s main port is the Sepanggar Port and the old Kota Kinabalu port in town has been operating at limited capacity for decades.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa announced on December 7 last year, that the Labuan-Kota Kinabalu ferry service would resume on December 15.
However, the ferry service never resumed as planned.
The matter drew criticism from several Labuan-based non-governmental groups, most of whom blamed Sabah’s port infrastructure shortcomings for the delay.
The agency in charge of overseeing the service resumption, Labuan Development Authority (LDA) also said the delay was caused by “safety concerns” rather than inadequate preparations.
Towards this, Shahelmy said Sabah was not to be blamed for the delays, stressing that Labuan had never consulted Sabah earlier before announcing the resumption of the service.
“The report that the ministry didn’t take action or visit the site is baseless,” he said. – January 14, 2025.
