PUTRAJAYA and Jakarta stand in the way of reinstating the air and land connections between Sarawak and Kalimantan that were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Sarawak Transport Minister Lee Kim Shin said after returning from a four-day working visit to the Indonesian province.
The pandemic and subsequent border closures helped stop the spread of the deadly viral infection, but it also put an end to direct flights between Kuching and Pontianak with no sign of when they would be reinstated.
Lee said he raised the issue with Acting Governor of West Kalimantan, Harisson Azroi, Acting Mayor of Pontianak, Ani Sofian, Acting Regional Secretary of Singkawang, Aulia Candra, and Consul-General of Malaysia to Pontianak, Azizul Zekri Abd Rahim, requesting their support to press the Indonesian and Malaysian governments for their approvals to resume the flights.
Lee said Harisson had expressed his support and promised he would personally take up the matter with his central government in Jakarta.
“This (reinstating the flight) is not only a request from the people of Sarawak but also from the people of Pontianak,” Lee said, pointing to the request made by a Pontianak elected representative whom he met there.
There are six airports serving West Kalimantan – Supadio international airport in Pontianak, Pangsuma in Putussibau, Rahadi Usman airport that serves Ketapang Regency, Sintang airport (also known as Tebelian airport), Nanga Pinoh airport that serves Melawi Regency, and Serimbu airport at Landak.
Supadio international airport – serving the capital city of Pontianak – is also the largest airport in West Kalimantan and handles both domestic and international flights.
Pangsuma serves the Kapuas Hulu Regency while Rahadi Usman is important for access to the southern part of West Kalimantan. Sintang airport serves Sintang and its surrounding regions.
The Nanga Pinoh airport is a small regional airport serving the town of the same name while Serimbu is a small airfield primarily used for local and regional flights.
During his September 1-4 visit, Lee, accompanied by the Indonesia Consul-General in Kuching Raden Sigit Witjaksono and Consul General of Malaysia to Pontianak Azizul Zekri Abd Rahim, also made a working visit to Supadio airport and the new one in Singkawang.
Lee expressed hope that a Sarawak-owned airline would have the opportunity to fly to these six cities and towns in Kalimantan.
On the direct bus service between Kalimantan and Sarawak, Lee said only Putrajaya was holding that up. He was told the Indonesian government had given the green light for the “point to point” service between Singkawang and Kuching and was now awaiting Putrajaya’s response.
On a visit to local bus company Damri in Singkawang, he spoke to passengers about the inconveniences they faced on the route.
Currently, passengers disembark at the border, and they must cross the border to transfer to another bus to get to their destination.
Lee said he hoped the federal government would grant a permit similar to the arrangement between Pontianak and Kuching and vice versa.
He said his federal counterpart, Anthony Loke, was aware of the issue, which both had discussed in Putrajaya earlier this year. – September 6, 2024.
