SRB moves to ensure safe Gawai trip

TIME TO CELEBRATE AGAIN: The ‘balik kampung’ crowd at Sibu Express Boat Terminal yesterday. Passenger volume at the terminal soared to 4,392 on Friday. It was only 2,747 on Thursday. — Photo by Peter Boon

A SRB officer looks on as passengers embark.

SIBU: Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) enforcement officers led by their controller William Jinep were in the thick of action yesterday, braving heavy rain to mount river blocks to check that express boats were safe to travel in.

Express boats were stopped and inspected at the Rajang River near Lanang Bridge to ensure no overloading and adequate life jackets on board.

“We carried out river blocks at strategic locations to check on safety compliance in addition to checks at terminals and wharfs. The safety of passengers is our priority,” Jinep told reporters here yesterday.

They also checked on unregistered boats.

The drivers would be asked to turn back if the boat carried excess passengers.

“SRB enforcement officers will escort them back in the interest of safety,” he said.

The drivers would be advised to provide life jackets for passengers failing which their particulars would be taken down.

Jinep cautioned that they would find ways to enforce the rules if they continue to defy them.

Meanwhile, the number of passengers passing through Sibu Express Board Terminal soared to 4,392 on Friday, May 27 from 2,747 on Thursday.

Expecting the number to surge rapidly in the next couple of days, he recalled that at the peak of last Gawai Dayak, the terminal here handled some 8,000 passengers while 4,000 passengers used their facility in Kuching.

He expected the throng of passengers making their way home for the celebration this year to be similar to that for last year.

He said they were assisted by Rela, Civil Defence Department (JPAM), police and marine police in keeping a hawk’s eye at the terminal.

On the stringent measures implemented at the terminal, he said express boats were not permitted to leave until the board was satisfied with their compliance on safety.

“We will issue them a departure pass if they fulfill the safety requirements.

“Only then are they permitted to embark on their journey,” he said.

Furthermore all passengers on board must have tickets.

He said the ‘No Ticket, No Entry’ policy was stringently enforced and that express boats were not allowed to leave should any passenger be found without a ticket.