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GEORGE TOWN: As the world bids farewell to 2020 on New Year’s Eve, many Penang residents caught the last ferry sailing through the Penang Canal before the iconic Penang Ferry Service was retired on January 1.
40-year-old university professor Oo Chuan Wei and his family are seen on the iconic Penang ferry.
“We stayed on the island of Penang and this is the first and last time that my children travel on the ferry.
“My children between the ages of five and eight enjoyed their ride.
“We parked our car on the island and got on the ferry to the mainland.
“The trip brought back many childhood memories for my wife and me.
“I used to take the ferry when I travel to Taiping, Perak to visit my grandmother,” he said.
For the first time since 1971, Penang’s ferry service will receive a major upgrade with more efficient vessels, while the old ferries that had served for generations will continue to be a heritage landmark and serve as floating museums, restaurants and other tourist attractions.
When the announcement was made, many people with the elderly and children in tow queued for an hour or more to get on the boats just for fun and to take pictures.
Penang’s ferry service began in 1894, using steamboats.
The fleet had been replaced many times over the years. This current fleet of old double-decker square ferries was commissioned between 1971 and 2004.
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