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GEORGE TOWN: The Finance Minister’s announcement that Penang’s iconic ferry service would continue has taken the Penang government by surprise, says Chow Kon Yeow.
Penang’s chief minister said the state will wait for Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) to announce its final plans for the ferry service after Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz declared it would continue to operate.
Chow said Tengku Zafrul’s announcement came as a surprise to all parties involved, including the Penang Port Commission (PPC), PPSB, and the state.
“According to previous reports, it was not in the plan.
“We will allow time for PPSB to get more requests, either from the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Transport, on whether the initial tentative plan will remain as planned,” Chow said on Friday (December 18).
On Thursday (December 17), Tengku Zafrul said, in Parliament, that the government will impose a condition on PPSB to continue the iconic and historic ferry service.
He said that this condition would be imposed in relation to RM15 thousand of the RM30 thousand approved for PPSB to take over the ferry service.
Chow said that since he was not a deputy in the current or past government, he has no details of what happened.
“I am not aware of what happened in the Cabinet.
“Previously, in a briefing session, PPC and PPSB came to inform the former state government about their plan to run the catamaran service from July 2022.
“In the intervening period, they will operate the pedestrian transport service through leased ferries,” he added.
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